


Mænd og Instinkt

by chapscher



Category: Basic Instinct (Movies), Hannibal (TV), Mænd & høns | Men & Chicken (2015)
Genre: Anal Sex, Bondage, Canon Divergence - Basic Instinct, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossdressing, Drinking, M/M, Masturbation, Non-Consensual Kissing, Oral Sex, Serial Killer!Adam, Will add archive warnings on request, Will tag more as series progresses, yes it's in english I'm just pretentious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-07 02:07:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11049072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapscher/pseuds/chapscher
Summary: In an attempt to gain a greater understanding of their father's work, Gabriel convinces his brothers to undergo a series of tests at Johns Hopkins. While there it is recommended that Elias speak with a therapist about his compulsive and excessive needs.  Meanwhile, Will investigates a serial killer who has traveled to Baltimore from the U.K., uncertain what information the killer is searching for or who he will target next.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of Baby Bull Fest 2017. I would like to thank Flying Rotten for introducing me and so many others (through her stunning and fascinating art) to Mænd og Høns. It is a beautiful film and I can't get enough of it.

Gabriel wasn’t answering his phone and Elias was beginning to regret leaving him so many messages earlier in the week. The past few days had been hectic. It all started a few weeks ago when Elias packed his suitcase after Gabriel told him that they were going to a hospital in America so doctors could examine them and run tests. And then, after Franz announced that the family would never expose themselves like that, Elias unpacked. This went back and forth as Gabriel described new doctors that became interested and Franz’s counter-arguments became more definite and violent. Josef’s small bag stayed packed as he used the distraction to sneak cheese from the kitchen, and Gregor waited patiently for Franz to make the ultimate decision. Elias, however, wanted only to please both of his brothers and wore himself thin trying to do so.

This didn’t even account for the incredibly frustrating flight across the Atlantic. The plane was filled with astoundingly beautiful women of every shape and height and color and type. He needed several trips to the bathroom to relieve the uncontrollable desires that flooded him. A stewardess asked him after his fourth trip back and during turbulence if he was alright. He muttered a response, confident but barely audible over the roar of the engines. When she asked him to repeat himself Gregor had already gotten up and was dragging him back to his seat, assuring the stewardess he was fine. Elias should have known that Gabriel would send Gregor to interrupt his plans, he always was jealous of how women look at him. He sat down, frustrated and still needing to touch himself. Gabriel saw through his subtle request for a lap blanket and immediately scolded him. “You’re going to get yourself arrested. This is why I can’t take you anywhere, because you’re disgusting and have no sense of self-control.”

The rest of the flight Elias spent crying, trapped between his insatiable desires and his brother’s disapproving glare. As soon as they landed Elias rushed to the bathroom and sobbed in relief at the comforting and familiar sensation of his own hand against his sensitive cock. When he cleaned up and stepped out of the bathroom Gabriel was waiting for him with a warm pretzel he bought from a nearby kiosk. After an apology, a long hug, and some food, the five brothers left the airport for Johns Hopkins. Then came the barrage of interviews and tests and waiting for doctors to conduct more interviews and tests. That started a few days ago and there didn’t seem to be an end in sight.

Eventually it was recommended that all of the brothers speak to a therapist, being told that what they went through was either “traumatic” or “horribly abusive.” Elias wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he agreed to see someone once Franz assured him that the grant Gabriel acquired would cover the cost. The doctors seemed to have ignored his request for a female therapist, which is how he found himself here: sitting in the patient exit hallway in the home of Hannibal Lecter.

Although Hannibal wasn’t the beautiful woman he wanted, he was admittedly a decent therapist. He listened and didn’t interrupt nearly as often as his other doctors did. His voice was calm and much softer than most other people he encountered in America, which was soothing. The one thing about him that Elias didn’t like was how he kept trying to have him talk about how his compulsive need for sexual contact kept him from steady work and jeopardized his relationship with Gabriel. Elias didn’t like talking about that at all and gave the doctor some choice words in Danish before bursting into tears with the thought of how disappointed Gabriel would be if he stopped therapy so quickly.

To his credit, Dr. Lecter had assured him that they will spend the next session talking about Gabriel and how their relationship can improve. However, as the minutes ticked by in the patient exit, Elias began to fear that perhaps his relationship with Gabriel was beyond repair. Why hadn't he picked him up by now? Why won't he answer his phone? Elias wept and had gone through most of the tissue box when the door to Hannibal’s office opened and Elias was suddenly face-to-face with a short, round man he had never seen before.

“What are you doing?” Elias demanded, springing to his feet and wiping his tears away with the back of his sleeve. “Don’t you know that you can’t just barge in on people like this? This is a therapist’s office and I have my rights. Aren’t I allowed as much privacy as any other man? Who do you think you are? You’re an exceptionally rude man, that’s what you are. I can’t see how anyone would like you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” the man blurted out, his eyes wide and watering as he stepped back into Hannibal’s office.

“I bet you are! Barging in on people. It’s not right.”

“Elias,” Hannibal said, his voice stern as he stepped between Elias and the frightened man. “Your session ended an hour ago. What are you doing here?”

“I… Gabriel was supposed to come with the car but… and I tried to call him but he’s not answering and his voicemail is full. And I’m not sure what the number for the hotel or hospital is.”

Hannibal nodded thoughtfully before stepping aside and looking to the man behind him. “I apologize, Franklyn. I should have checked to see that the hall was clear before letting you out. Will you be alright?”

The short man nodded and seemed to immediately calm down as soon as Hannibal placed a hand on his shoulder.

“If you will come back into my office, Elias,” Hannibal said as Franklyn leaned into his touch. “I can make a few calls to find out where Gabriel is. Would that be okay?”

Elias agreed and stepped past Franklyn and back into the office. He waited impatiently as Hannibal gave Franklyn a few parting words and sent him away.

“Before I call anyone, Elias, I would like to ask you a question and I would like you to answer me honestly.”

Elias could guess what Hannibal was going to ask him. It was a question that Gabriel used to ask him all the time until he eventually gave up, already knowing the answer. He decided to change the subject instead.

“That man,” Elias said. “Did you see the way he looked at you? I know that look very well. He wants to do you, you know that?”

“Elias.”

“I’m not sure if he wants to do you or if he wants you to do him. Either way, it’s something very sexual.”

Hannibal took a deep breath and picked up Elias’ file from his desk. “Yes. Thank you for telling me. Now may I ask you a question?”

“What?”

“Did you masturbate while in the exit hallway?”

Elias didn’t respond. After his session he had pleasured himself before even checking to see if Gabriel was waiting for him. He wasn’t sure how Hannibal knew. He had even tried to be especially quiet this time.

“Why do you ask?” Elias said.

“Elias, I know this is a compulsive need of yours and we will have to discuss it in future sessions. But for now I would prefer if you didn’t do that while sitting on my furniture. Do you understand?”

Elias hung his head. Hannibal’s tone was getting very similar to Gabriel’s and he would rather not think about that right now.

“May I use your toilet?” Elias asked, his voice small. “While you call Johns Hopkins?”

Hannibal sighed again but agreed, directing Elias to a small bathroom next to an elegant dining room. Elias glanced in, admiring the elegant yet masculine design of Dr. Lecter’s home. He smiled at the long table, wondering when he would be home with his brothers and contentedly exchanging plates over dinner. It was then that his eyes wandered up to a painting above the fireplace. It was of a woman, nude and exposing herself to a swan. Elias gasped softly, wondering if Hannibal Lecter was depraved enough to feel the intense arousal upon seeing it that now overwhelmed Elias. 

Palming himself through his loose trousers, Elias rushed into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him. He sat down on the toilet and pulled out his cock, already dripping wet with pre-come. He spread a pearl-like bead of it across the head with his thumb, exhaling in relief as a jolt of pleasure shot through him. Images flashed into his head as Elias imagined himself as the swan in that painting. The sex would be messy, violent, and needed so very badly. Having never had sex with anyone Elias’ vision returned to the chickens he had ravished and he whined in shame. 

His eyes suddenly shot open and he bit his lip, cursing himself for making a sound after Hannibal had just scolded him. “You’ll never learn, Elias,” he remembered Gabriel mutter to himself once when he thought he was out of earshot. The words made him choke back a sob as he tried to return to the task at hand. A powerful enough orgasm should keep him satisfied and focused for a while. Elias looked around the small bathroom, hoping to see more nude figures hanging on the walls. Instead he found a small bottle of lavender hand lotion, which was just as welcomed.

A soft staggered gasp fell from Elias’ throat as his hand glided easily along the shaft, now coated in lotion. He bit his lip again to keep from making too much noise as he pumped his cock. The painting returned to his mind as well as snapshot-like memories of the dozens of women he had encountered between Ork and Baltimore. What would happen if even just one of them asked to see his massive endowment. It would be irresistible. One of the doctors at Johns Hopkins had looked genuinely impressed and said that he had never seen anyone so large. He asked Elias a series of questions about chafing and blood pressure before offhandedly saying that the size of it had probably scared a few lovers away. Elias hated thinking about that, as flattering as it was to be told that it was possible. Once again he returned to the woman in the painting, assuring himself that she wouldn’t turn him away.

He approached the height of sensitivity, fantasizing about gripping someone’s hips and pressing himself in deep. He wanted to moan as he could hear desperate cries of pleasure in his head as every movement pushed him closer to the edge. It was then that he heard a knock on the door.

Elias swore quietly in Danish before raising his voice at the door. “Yes? What is it?”

“Elias? A good friend of mine came over. Should I escort him to the dining room or is it okay with you if he waits in the office while I call Johns Hopkins?”

Elias looked down at his cock, still throbbing and slick with hand lotion. Hopefully this wouldn’t be a long conversation through the door.

“Is he another therapist?” Elias asked. Even though he wanted to get back to business he had enough doctors poking at him that the thought of another was enough of a threat for him to prolong this conversation. He slowly stroked himself as he grabbed a wad of toilet paper, reminding himself of the painting.

“No. He’s just a friend.”

“That’s fine. He can wait in the office.”

Elias had already resumed his fantasy before Hannibal even finished thanking him. He closed his eyes as the visions became less distinct. The woman. A stewardess. A woman in the waiting room. A woman in scrubs in the hospital cafeteria. The doctor who praised him. No. A woman waiting in line for taxis at the airport. A woman in the hotel elevator. Franklyn. No! The woman in the painting. The woman in the painting. The swan. The chickens back home. NO! Fuck.

Soft cries of pleasure were swallowed as Elias came hard into the wad of toilet paper. He pumped himself, clear fantasies blurring as another spurt shot out of him. His mind went blank as the only thing left was sensation, hand still moving and taking advantage of his sensitivity until he was afraid that a second longer and he would be uncontrollably moaning in ecstasy. And then, like the pull of wind from a passing train, it had passed. 

Elias leaned back against the toilet basin, spent and more satisfied than he had been since he left home. Thankfully the toilet paper caught most of what came out of him. He wiped the lotion off of himself and pulled up his trousers, grabbing tissues and making sure no evidence was left. He flushed everything down the toilet and scrubbed his hands clean. He hated how the chickens kept materializing near the end of his fantasies, but he was starting to get used to it. As long as he wasn't into it like Gregor was. The visions of men, however, were a recent development. Perhaps because, excluding himself, there were so few attractive men in Ork. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, deciding that sometime he’ll try focusing on men for a session and seeing how it feels. They hardly incite the same visceral reaction in him that women do, but there was something there.

Elias stepped out of the bathroom, satisfied and his hands dry. Hannibal was flipping through a rolodex on his desk. 

“Hej,” Elias said, hoping he looked natural and not like he had an orgasm only about a minute ago.

“Elias, this is my friend, Will,” said Hannibal as he moved so he wasn't standing between the two men. He dialed his desk phone and sat down. “Will, this is Elias.”

Will was beautiful. His mussed brown hair fell over his eyes in thick curls. An endearing lopsided smile was framed by slightly patchy stubble. He wasn’t particularly tall but even under a fishing jacket it was clear that his body was covered in lean muscle. 

“Do you come here often after Dr. Lecter has finished talking to his patients?” Elias asked, wiping his hands on his trousers to make sure they weren’t somehow still sticky. “What if there is someone who stays late? You don’t know about the kind of people who need to come here. You’re lucky it’s just me and not some crazy person.”

Hannibal was about to say something when the nurse at the other end of the line picked up. Will, unfazed by what Elias had told him, smiled politely at both him and Hannibal before walking to the windows to give Hannibal some privacy. As he walked away, Elias couldn’t help but to stare at the firm but round curve of his backside. When he looked back he saw Hannibal admiring the view as well.

There was no time for Hannibal to react when Elias gave him a knowing smile and strutted over to Will’s side by the window.

“Have you been seeing Dr. Lecter long?” Will asked, his voice lower than Elias imagined and infinitely more seductive. 

“Yes,” he said automatically. “No! I mean no. Today was my first time here.”

Will chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Elias snapped. “English is not my first language. You are lucky that I’m not having you speak to me only in Danish. It’s very rude to laugh when I have made such a small mistake.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Will said, smiling. “I’m just remembering the first time I was able to really have a talk with Hannibal. He comes on like an old friend. I felt like I knew him for years when it was only a few hours.”

“Oh.” Elias looked down at the floor, his defensive outburst suddenly feeling very childlike. “So, what is it that you do?”

“I do field work for the FBI. Tracking down murderers mostly. Unusual but urgent cases.” Will walked over to the ladder leading up to the library that surrounded the office a floor above. He leaned back against it, thoughtful. “Hannibal helps me with a few cases.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“Yeah, but I can’t talk about the case yet. Sorry.”

“You can talk about it with me. I can be very good at keeping secrets.”

Will smiled again, sweet and slightly crooked. Elias found himself drawn close, wanting to run the palm of his hand against the stubble of Will’s cheek. It was so easy to admire how his lips formed around each syllable.

“It sounds very dangerous,” Elias pressed on. “To be following murderers.”

“It can be.”

“You must be very brave.”

Will shrugged. “That’s a matter of perspective, I think.”

“Did anyone ever hurt you?”

“Not physically,” Will said. “There was this one case where a girl was almost killed right in front of me. I…” he stopped himself, “I’m sorry, it’s upsetting. Forget I said it. She’s recovering now. So am I.”

But Will’s words hit Elias like a punch to the nose. “In front of you? Someone almost killed a little girl?”

“Forget about it. And she isn’t that little, more of a young adult.”

“Who? Who did that? Who hurts little girls? Who hurts anyone in front of you?”

“He’s dead now,” Will said, his tone growing harsher as he refused to look Elias in the eyes. “Just forget I said anything. I’m sorry.”

Elias shook his head. “No. Who did he think he was doing that? If anyone else does anything like that again you let me know. I’ll take care of them. I mean it. They won’t mess with you or that little girl any more. And then, once I finish with him, I’ll… I’ll make you a nice dinner.”

Will took a deep breath, closing his eyes and unable to hide a smile. “Thanks. That’s… that’s sweet of you.”

“‘Sweet’?” Elias echoed. Only one other person had called him sweet before. She was one of Gabriel’s girlfriends - the one who was the most madly and secretly in love with Elias. She even let him hold her hand once. He barely knew who this Will was, but things were moving very quickly for him to be saying things like “sweet” already. “You think I’m sweet?”

“We have all of the FBI going after these killers. Armed with military-grade weaponry and armor. There are some crime scenes I walk onto surrounded by collective centuries of training. But… if you still want to protect me from the most wanted men in the country, then yes, I think that’s sweet.”

“The FBI is little organization founded to break up whore houses,” Elias said. “Only because it was 1908 and they didn’t have anything better to do. No, you had better let me take care of this. I don’t think they’re qualified to protect you.”

Will was still smiling. Most people would have tried to end the conversation and leave by now, suddenly revealing their rude natures. But no, Will was nice. Will enjoyed talking to him. Not even his own brothers liked talking to him this much.

“In that case,” Will said, “perhaps you can teach them a thing or two.”

And just when he was beginning to wonder what it would be like to be with a man. Elias didn’t believe in much of anything aside from what he sees with his own eyes, but Will was about to make him believe in fate. They stood side-by-side in a comfortable silence, Will leaning against the ladder.

It was the single most romantic moment of Elias’ life. Will was feeling it too. He must be. It’s the only feeling that made sense. And Elias was not about to let it slide by.

In one movement he pinned Will against the ladder and slipped his tongue into his mouth. Will moaned into the kiss, submissive and passionate as Elias held him. Elias’ first kiss - and his heart raced as he felt Will’s hand press against his chest. 

Will’s palm rested just over Elias’ heart. And then he pushed.

Hard.

Elias stumbled backwards and into the chaise lounge. Will was still against the ladder, but he didn’t look like he did a moment ago. He looked furious. No. Worse. He looked repulsed.

“What’s this about?” Elias asked, trying not to sound too defensive as he straightened himself up.

“What was that about?!” Will shouted, his voice cracking and his eyes wild. 

No. Not wild. 

Scared.

“Elias,” Hannibal said, his voice cutting through Elias’ thoughts like a saw through tissue paper. The doctor seemed so calm that hearing him be cross was immediately disarming. He grabbed Elias by the collar, fury boiling behind his eyes. “I think you should leave.”

“You think I should leave?” Elias said. “This man was very rude. You should absolutely not try to kiss him.”

Hannibal dragged Elias towards the patient exit. 

“He’s a pig,” Elias said. “Shoving people. Yelling at them. Don’t go near him.”

“I will need to have a talk with your primary doctor and your brothers before we see each other again,” Hannibal said, his voice cold.

“Do you treat all of your patients this way? I don’t think this is a standard practice.”

Hannibal threw open the door and Elias was about to object until he realized that he was suddenly face-to-face with his brother. Gabriel looked to Elias, to Hannibal, and then to Will, trembling and leaning against the ladder.

“What’s going on here?”


	2. Chapter 2

Will was alone in Hannibal’s office, still shaking as he sat down in his usual chair. He could hear Hannibal talking on the other side of the patient exit. The strange cheese-like taste of Elias’ mouth lingered on his tongue and he felt sick. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to look at the ladder the same way again.

He glanced to the door when he heard muffled shouting in Danish followed by furniture falling over. A moment later Hannibal returned, closing the door quietly behind him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t intervene sooner,” Hannibal said, closing Elias’ file on his desk. “He didn’t have a history of assault and if he did I wouldn’t have let him near you.”

“I didn’t see it coming either.” Will shook his head, not wanting to look at Hannibal. “He was just making small-talk and I accidentally told him about Garret Jacob Hobbs and Abigail and he became really protective. I thought he was just being empathetic. I didn’t even realize that it was flirting until… Dammit.”

Will blinked and tears tumbled down his cheeks, falling onto his jacket. He was about to stand but Hannibal was already in front of him, handing him a box of tissues. They were quiet as Will blew his nose and dried his face.

“Even if you did realize his intentions, Will, it’s not your fault that he took advantage of you.” Hannibal sighed as he sat down across from Will. “I should have seen what he was trying to do. I’m sorry, Will.”

Will took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes. “I guess now you see why I don’t go out much.” Hannibal gave him a sympathetic smile. “I may be able to get in killers’ heads, but… I can’t see some of the most simple, basic social cues.”

“This wasn’t your fault.”

“Hannibal,” Will said, finally looking over at him. “I want to talk about the case like I came here to do. I want to move on from whatever just happened. But can we possibly do our talk in another room? I’m sorry, I know we always talk in here but…”

“We can talk wherever you like,“ Hannibal said, rising to his feet. “And would you like a glass of wine?”

“Something stronger.”

Will followed Hannibal out of his office and through his house. He paused only for as moment as Hannibal led him to a flight of stairs beside the kitchen. As often as he had visited the doctor, be had never traveled to the second floor. The steps creaked slightly under Will's feet as he traveled upwards. The second story of Hannibal’s home was darker and felt much more personal than his office or dining room was. Will paused to admire a suit of armor displayed in the hallway as Hannibal pushed open a door.

Will glanced around the room. “This… is your bedroom.”

“Is that alright? I don't mean to be insensitive in regards to what has only just happened, but it's the only other room with the office’s chair setup.”

The room was large, large enough to have a sitting area and fireplace and still have plenty of space for a king-sized bed. Hannibal stood beside a lounge chair and opened a decanter of whiskey. Will’s eyes settled on the two lounge chairs that angled towards each other in front of the fireplace.

“May I ask what kind of therapy you perform in here?”

Hannibal smiled as he switched on the gas fireplace. “I haven't brought anyone here for any reason in months. The people I do bring have been few and far between. My libido has never been particularly strong.”

“And still I wonder what the last conversation that took place in these chairs was,” Will said as he sat down and took a sip of his drink.

“Mussorgsky and the Russian Opera tradition, I think.” Hannibal sat down opposite Will, legs crossed and writing pad resting on his knee. “Now, if you're done speculating, perhaps we can discuss the case.”

“Sorry. I spent several hours today investigating a murder scene in a bedroom and then several more hours looking at near identical crime scenes from Scotland Yard.”

“Scotland Yard? So this is an international incident?”

“I suppose. This is a copycat killer who had been dormant for years. Whoever it is has been copying the work of Catherine Tramell, a serial killer from the U.S. who was sentenced to life in prison in the U.K. about a decade ago. The first few murders occurred within a year of her trial, but since then they were too far apart to establish any pattern.”

“And her copycat is here now?”

“Apparently,” Will said, taking another sip from his whiskey and looking into the fire. “From what I could gather at the crime scene, it seems that the killer follows a pattern. It is an elaborate form of robbery. The killer selects their targets because they know that they have something information of value, usually a document or some sort of record, something that’s kept in a filing cabinet in the victim’s home. Then they begin their act of seduction. Each victim that was found was undressed and bound to their bed, strangled and with multiple stab wounds. The victims show no signs of self-defense and no tranquilizers are found in their system, suggesting that they consented to being tied down. Condoms, sexual lubricants, and other items of paraphernalia were often found with them on the bed. As for the documents that the killer was after, they were usually leaked to the press a week or so after the crime.”

“What kind of people did the killer target?”

“Whoever had the information that the killer wanted. Usually doctors or lawyers, but they have targeted a few politicians. The last victim was a doctor at Johns Hopkins, but his files were to thoroughly raided that we’re not sure what exactly was taken. Whatever Doctor Evans was studying had caught this copycat’s attention. Beverly’s currently working with Scotland Yard to see if there’s any connection between his patients and previous victims. I don’t think that anything will come up; the targets haven’t always been connected. Unfortunately, I think we’ll have to wait to see if the killer strikes again before we have an idea of what they’re even after.”

Hannibal sat back and watched as Will poured himself another glass of whiskey. “May I make an observation?”

“Go ahead.”

“This entire time you’ve been referring to the killer as ‘they’. Usually you refer to an unknown killer as ‘he’.”

“Scotland Yard and I have differing opinions about the killer’s gender. They assume that since the killer is copying Catherine Tramell, most of the victims were men, and since the killer seduced their targets that whoever the killer is must be female. I disagree.”

“You don’t think that the copycat matches the pattern of other female serial killers you observed?”

“I think that Scotland Yard is reluctant to believe that men can be seductive.”

♉♉♉

The Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane glowed golden and pink in the sunset. Adam Towers flipped down the driver’s-side visor in his rental car and ran his fingers through long brown hair, examining himself in the visor mirror. He had been preening and adjusting himself for the past half-hour, knowing that he won’t have to wait much longer. His satchel was on the seat next to him and he shuffled through it. As ready as he was, he just had to make sure one last time that this was where he was supposed to be. Adam picked up Dr. Samuel Evans’ planner and address booklet, paging through to find an entry from two days ago.

“Meeting @ B.S.H.C.I. re: Thanatos. Genetic findings. Psychiatrists”

He flipped to the back of the book.

“Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Call Mon-Thurs 11am – 7pm”

He checked his watch. It was 6:58. Time to get moving.

Adam climbed out of his car, wrapping his long green scarf around his neck and giving himself one last once-over in the reflection off the car’s tinted windows. He had found and memorized his target’s face, which was an astonishingly easy task. Most doctors prefer their privacy, but this one seemed more than happy to have his image fill the back cover of every book he had ever written. Even in his writing he came off as an insecure, pompous, arrogant, pretentious egomaniac who was held together by double-breasted suits and heavy jewelry.

Adam stepped into the state institution, his heart rate calmer than it was during the wait. Things have been put into motion now, and there was no stopping it once it started.

“Visiting hours are up for the day,” the man behind the visitor’s desk said.

Adam took a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to the man, who quickly pocketed it and leaned across the counter. Adam smiled. It saves him so much time when they’re cooperative.

“How may I be of service to you?” the man asked, his cordial tone misplaced beside his tight lips, a white uniform, and a scarred chin.

Adam smiled in acknowledgement of their shared understanding. “I want to have an audience with Dr. Frederick Chilton.”

♉♉♉

Elias rubbed his eyes as Gabriel drove him down leafy streets and towards their hotel and Johns Hopkins. They hadn't spoken since they left Dr. Lecter's office about twenty minutes ago. He sniffled as he remembered Will, who at first was so welcoming and ultimately became disgusted by him. As much as Elias tried to tell himself that Will was a rude and violent pig he just couldn't believe that. A tear fell down his cheek.

He had done something very very hurtful to Will.

“Elias?” Gabriel said. “Would you like to tell me what happened with you and that man?”

“He was very rude.”

“Dr. Lecter said that you assaulted him, Elias. I’ve known you my entire life and you have been brash and forward and overbearing. But you have never forced yourself on anyone.”

“I-I didn't-”

“Dr. Lecter told me that you pinned his friend to the ladder so you could force your tongue into his mouth.”

Elias’ cheeks flushed a bright red as tears formed in his eyes again. “But he called me ‘sweet’ and everything. You should have seen how romantic it was. He wanted me and-”

“No, Elias. He clearly didn't.” Gabriel took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the wheel. “Despite how forward you are with people, I never once thought that I would have to tell you not to touch people who don't want to be touched. I thought you were better than that.”

Elias turned away from Gabriel, squeezing his eyes shut as two tears left wet streaks down his face. He gripped the sides of his head, as if it could lessen the blows dealt to him from guilt and his brother's disapproval. He sniffled as more tears came, whimpering under their weight in his throat. Will’s repulsed expression burned into his mind and he quietly wept as Gabriel drove into the parking garage under the hotel.

“Elias?” Gabriel said, not making any move to leave the car after he parked. “Why did you do it?”

“He was so nice. He called me nice things. He smiled at me.” Elias rubbed his eyes, still not looking at Gabriel. “He wasn't like the others. He wanted to talk to me. I thought that...”

“Talking and kissing are two very different things.”

“I know. I thought that-”

“ _Do_ you know, Elias?”

“I thought he was in love with me!”

“You think everyone’s in love with you!”

At that Elias started sobbing, loud and heavy. He choked and gasped for air through pained moans and helpless whines. Gabriel watched in silence, his stern expression softening as he watched his older brother. Elias had always been sensitive and he had seen him cry many times. He was usually so quiet and to hear him was always disarming.

“You really thought he loved you?” Gabriel asked.

Elias nodded. “I thought that Will-” he started, but lost his words as memories of Will’s gentle smile gave way to shoving and shouting.

“You shouldn’t have kissed him, Elias. How do you think he must feel after you did that? Do you realize what you did?”

Elias cried harder and Gabriel waited patiently beside him until the sobs died down.

“Elias? Do you want to apologize to that man? And to Dr. Lecter? You hurt him too. He trusted you not to hurt his friend. Are you sorry?”

Elias nodded, jostling a few tears from his eyes. He sniffled and looked down as Gabriel placed a tissue in his hands. Breaths shaking, he blew his nose and wiped the tears off his face.

“Clean yourself up,” Gabriel said, pulling more tissues from his coat pocket. “The others don't have to know about this. I know we're all one family now, but there are some things that we can keep just between the two of us.”

Gabriel was caught off guard but shouldn't have been surprised when Elias leaned over the gear shift to pull him into a hug. He rested a hand on his older brother's back, listening to him try to get his breath back under him.

“Did you like Dr. Lecter as a therapist?” Gabriel asked.

He felt Elias nod.

“Should I try to get him to continue your case?”

Another nod.

“Okay, I’ll talk with him and the case worker and see what I can do. I’ll work something out.”

Nod.

“I think you should write an apology letter to both of them. I’ll even help you.”

A slight nuzzle instead of a nod.

“You can let go now, Elias.”

Elias sat back into the passenger seat. His eyes were swollen but his cheeks weren't as red as they were a few minutes ago.

“I didn't even know that you were attracted to men,” Gabriel said, his voice calm as he folded the remaining tissues back into his pocket. “I’ve known you for so long I thought I would have picked up on it by now.”

“I’m not.”

“It’s okay if you are.”

“But I’m not attracted to all men,” Elias said, his tone indignant. “I wasn’t attracted to your roommates. Your best friend in Roskilde, I never wanted to do him. And the same with Mayor Flemming. Dr. Evans also, I never-”

“-You can be attracted to some men without being attracted to all men, Elias. Men who are only attracted to women aren’t attracted to all women. Attraction isn’t all-or-nothing.”

“You interrupted me. Didn’t Franz tell you not to do that?”

“I’m sorry.”

Elias huffed. He would have been feeling better if Gabriel didn’t feel like he needed to interrogate him. And the slight crying headache lingering right behind his eyes wasn’t helping matters.

“And of course I’m attracted to all women,” Elias said, pouting as he looked around the parking garage. Maybe a woman would walk by and he could prove his point. “All women are beautiful.”

Gabriel sighed, knowing exactly what Elias was scanning the garage for and hoping that nobody came into their line of sight. “I know you are. And honestly I’ve always found that a little strange.”

“There’s nothing strange about it.”

“Okay, okay.” Gabriel was about to open the car door when he stopped himself and looked back to Elias. “I’m not saying you will, but if you ever want to bring a man home I want you to know it’s okay. And if Franz or any of the others disagree then I’ll set them right. As long as he makes you happy.”

Elias thought about this for a second. As often as he and Gabriel didn’t see eye-to-eye, they were still much closer to each other than they were to the rest of the family. He thought of every time Gabriel snapped at him after he announced that he would probably bring a woman home, perhaps even two or three. You never brought a woman home and you never will, Gabriel used to grumble at him when he was halfway out the door. And Franz, Elias never thought of how Franz would have reacted if he would have picked him up from Dr. Lecter’s instead of Gabriel. He could only imagine Franz yelling at him for the entire ride. If they were back in Ork Franz would have driven him home only to immediately lock him in the cage. At least Gabriel wanted to talk to him. Gabriel wanted to understand what happened. And in the second it took for Elias to remember and imagine all this his eyes began to fill with tears again.

“You never thought I could bring anyone home before,” was all he was able to say before oncoming tears of gratitude and relief strangled his words in his throat. He took a wadded and wet tissue from his pocket and blew his nose.

Gabriel only smiled faintly at him before getting out of the car and walking Elias up to their hotel room.

♉♉♉

“I don’t think I can let you drive home tonight,” Hannibal said as Will poured himself the last of the whiskey bottle.

“I know.” Will heaved a heavy sigh as he looked down at his drink. “I’ve really made a mess of myself, haven’t I?”

“It’s alright,” Hannibal said, looking up at the clock. “Even if you didn’t drink as much as you did, if you left now you wouldn’t be arriving in Wolf Trap until one in the morning. And you need your rest.”

Will nodded, leaning back in the armchair and looking into the fire, still blazing on artificial logs. In the several hours he and Hannibal had spent talking he had grown accustomed to the cozy arrangement of Hannibal’s bedroom. Perhaps he would request that they have more sessions here rather than in the office. Or maybe that was the whiskey talking. Sitting in a small room and drinking certainly felt more productive to him than any of the flashing metronomes Hannibal had tried on him downstairs.

“I have a guest bedroom,” Hannibal said. “Just down the hall. You can sleep there tonight.”

Nodding again, Will set down the shallow puddle of whiskey left in his glass and tried to stand up. He groaned with the effort, sounding and feeling significantly older than he actually was. In an instant Hannibal was in front of him, helping Will to his feet and balancing him. Will clung to the front of Hannibal’s suit, felling a broad and muscular chest beneath it. As Hannibal steadied him, Will leaned against his shoulder and breathed in his scent. He wore cologne and smelled of pepper and suede with a suggestion of musk, elegant and complex compared to the bottle of Old Spice aftershave that Will used in the mornings.

Hannibal stepped back, allowing Will to stand on his own. “Let me get you one of my robes so you have something to wear for the evening.”

Will nodded and watched as Hannibal disappeared through a door on the opposite side of the bedroom. It was a large closet, but it looked like it had barely enough space to fit Hannibal’s extensive wardrobe. A moment later he returned with a royal blue cashmere robe and draped it over Will’s shoulders.

Hannibal chuckled softly. “You’re swimming in it.”

Will looked down at the mass of fabric. It was clearly much too large for him, but he wasn’t picky as his eyes grew heavy.

“It’s fine.”

Will followed Hannibal to the guest bedroom and immediately ducked behind a decorative changing curtain; reminding himself that the faster he could get ready for bed the sooner he would be able to sleep. It wasn’t until he was standing completely naked and folding his clothes that he noticed the changing curtain was covered in decorative holes and he was nowhere near as concealed as he thought he was. Hannibal stood in the middle of the room, his shoulders tense as he faced away from Will. Will quickly wrapped the robe around himself and stepped out, folded clothes in hand.

“Sorry,” Will muttered, not entirely sure how much he had just embarrassed himself. “I’m not at my most perceptive right now.”

“It’s quite alright, Will,” Hannibal said, taking the clothes from his hands. “If it’s alright with you, I’ll wash these. You should have something clean to wear tomorrow.”

Will was about to object but didn’t have the energy to as Hannibal insisted once more before leaving to presumably head to the laundry room. The robe was soft against his skin and helped relax him despite the images of the crime scene that kept flickering into his memory. It was a particularly difficult scene to analyze, as most cases regarding sexual assault and manipulation were for him.

Trying to lodge the thoughts from his mind, Will shook his head and turned his attention to the bed. He pulled back the covers and piled the pillows against the headboard, sitting up and trying some of the relaxation breathing exercises that Hannibal had taught him. But still the images returned. He imagined himself in Dr. Evans’ office, giving him teasing glances and trailing his fingertips over parts of his own body that he knows Evans’ longs to touch. Will lightly caressed his own cheek as the scenario played out in his mind, a fingertip brushing over his lips and dipping into his mouth. Unable to stop playing out the fantasy, Will continued the tease to an audience of no one, touching his neck and chest, working his way down to his hips, ass, and thighs. He cupped his package, subtle and with a quiet wanting, the way that he imagined someone as well-bred as Dr. Evans would like it. Will let go and leaned against the headboard, eyes closed as he replayed the case. He saw himself climbing on top of Dr. Evans, sitting naked on his chest as he bound the victim’s wrists to the headboard.

To tell the truth, he didn’t know if Dr. Evans was as refined as he imagined he was. He just tried to imagine what someone like Dr. Lecter would find alluring.

In the fantasy Will held Evans’ head and mouth against his cock as he made sure the ropes were secure. The killer was in control now. He could leave the bed and come back with the butcher’s knife from the kitchen only to have Evans beg for him. He could climb on top of him, holding a knife and speaking sweetly and the good doctor would have no idea what was about to happen to him. He wouldn’t realize anything until the killer drove the blade into his chest. Over and over. In Will’s imagination he turned his attention away from the gaping wounds to tell Dr. Evans that this was his design, but he froze as the image of Dr. Evans had changed. He instead saw himself covered in blood and straddling Hannibal, who lay struggling for breath and crying in pain beneath him.

“Will.”

Will’s eyes shot open as he was brought back to the room, the fantasy dispersing but not entirely. Like vomit, it clung to the back of his throat, reminding him of what he had just done.

“Will?” Hannibal repeated, stepping into the room and leaving the bright light of the hallway. “Will, you’re sweating. Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?”

Will mopped his brow with the back of his hand and pulled his knees up to his chest as Hannibal sat down on the edge of the bed. He didn’t want to tell him what he had just imagined. Of all people, Hannibal would be the most understanding of what was happening to him, but still Will couldn’t bring himself to confess to what he just did in his imagination.

“Don’t bring anyone home,” Will said, shocked at how shaking and helpless his voice was. “Please. Don’t bring anyone home.”

“It’s alright, Will. I was just about to turn in for the night too. I’m not bringing anyone home.”

“No! Please don’t! Not until I find this guy. Please, Hannibal. I don’t know how long it will take and I wish I could tell you but please please promise me that you won’t bring anyone home.”

Hannibal took a box of tissues from the bedside table and handed it to Will, who took them, catching teardrops before they could fall.

“I won’t bring anyone home, Will,” Hannibal said, lightly rubbing Will’s back as Will buried his face in his hands and took deep breaths. “I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you going to be alright?”

“Can you stay with me tonight?” Will asked, immediately hating himself for how much he sounded like a little boy asking if he could sleep in his parents’ bed after he had a nightmare. “At least until I fall asleep. Please? I… I need to know that you’re okay.”

Hannibal nodded before sitting up and taking off his shoes. Will watched in silence as Hannibal stripped out of his shoes, socks, tie, jacket, and waistcoat. It was unusual to see him in such a state of undress; Will didn’t notice until that moment that he had never seen him without a tie. And now Hannibal stood at his bedside, slipping his belt out of its loops and partially unbuttoning his shirt, exposing skin and hair that Will never thought he would see. It comforted him, Hannibal’s body a stark contrast to Dr. Evans. The fantasy suddenly felt very far away and Will began to calm down.

The bed dipped as Hannibal climbed in beside Will, blankets and pillows shifting as they made themselves comfortable. Perhaps it was the drink, but Will somehow found himself to be bold enough to take Hannibal by the wrist and pull him close. Close enough to spoon him - Will’s back against Hannibal’s powerful body.

“Is this?” Will started, still lightly gripping Hannibal’s wrist. “Is this okay?”

“It’s fine, Will,” Hannibal said, breath against his hair as he pulled Will further into his arms. Will’s eyes grew heavy, panic subsiding to the gentle warmth of Hannibal’s body against his own.

“This is fine.”


	3. Chapter 3

Adam’s eyes were fixed on the little red sports car that guided him down winding residential roads. At no point did he expect Dr. Chilton to give him all that much trouble, but that man was practically crawling into his lap when they were in his office together. Adam only needed to barely suggest that he wanted him before Chilton was scribbling his address on the back of his business card and insisting that he lead him back to his place. Not that the address was needed, Chilton had made a point of pulling to the side of the road when Adam was stopped longer than he was at an intersection or whenever any cars came between them. This attempt at gentility was oddly endearing - in its own pathetic little way.

Chilton’s home was in a neighborhood where houses had long driveways and were spaced far apart, small shrubs only suggesting where one property bordered on the next. The house was much too big for one person, Adam decided as Chilton turned onto a driveway. Although he was sure that the doctor had no problem sprawling himself out to fit a space designed for a family of six.

When Chilton got out of his car he tried to nonchalantly look behind him to see if Adam was indeed still following him. Again Adam felt an odd little tug of pity for him, although he tried not to think on that for too long. He had a very strict set of plans for Chilton, and empathy had no place in what he was about to do.

Chilton waited at the edge of the walkway for Adam to get out of his car. Adam gave him a shy smile as he approached, running his fingers through his hair. Chilton swallowed hard as Adam looked down on him knowingly. He was yet to meet a man who didn’t want to grab his hair. Whenever kisses turned to heavy petting it was the first thing they felt up. And then later… these professional men all seemed to want something to grab onto when they had him lain out on the mattress.

But that came later.

“Just you here?” Adam asked as Chilton walked him to the door.

“Just me.”

Adam hummed contentedly, standing a little too close to Dr. Chilton as he got out his keys. “You must be doing very well for yourself. I always felt that you would be a fascinating subject for an article.”

Chilton cleared his throat as he unsuccessfully stabbed at the lock a few times. "And what did you say the name of this magazine you write for is?”

“ _Urbane_.”

Adam followed Chilton into his house, closing the door behind him as Chilton entered a password into the alarm system.

“It’s alright if you haven’t heard of it,” Adam said as Chilton took his coat and he was led through a house to a spacious room with only a few chairs and a piano in it. “It’s based in the U.K. but we’re considering branching out to an American audience. Do you play?”

“Some jazz,” Chilton said. He looked down at Adam, sitting prettily on the edge of his chair and suddenly any facsimile of security gave way to a rush of anxiety that claimed his features for a brief unguarded moment before he gathered himself together again.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked. “A glass of wine? Or a daiquiri perhaps?”

“Just water for me,” Adam said, smiling up at him. “But if you would prefer to have a drink for your interview, go ahead.”

“Oh. Of course. I’ll be right back.”

Adam watched Chilton head towards the kitchen, sizing him up. It seemed like the overconfident chest-out way he walked when he was at his hospital was far different from how he held himself at home. Adam rolled his eyes. Many of the men he worked with were insecure, but nobody had rubbed his face in it as much as Chilton was doing. He had to follow him before the doctor got cold feet.

Adam walked in on Chilton pouring himself a glass of wine and muttering quietly to himself as he took a tumbler from his glass cabinet. He looked so absorbed in making sure that the glass was spotless that he didn’t seem to notice Adam standing in the archway. It wasn’t until Adam tapped quietly on the wall that Chilton looked up from his task.

“I hope I haven’t made you nervous, Doctor,” Adam said, approaching him. “Under any other circumstances I would have loved a drink. But alcohol, it makes me… hazy. I forget things when I drink. Interview questions. Any nuances to your answers that my audio recorder might not pick up.”

“Oh.”

“All the little things I could do to you that you would like.” Adam smiled as he heard the glass clatter against the countertop. “I don’t want to forget that, Dr. Chilton.”

Chilton filled the glass with water and then, unthinkingly, immediately drank it himself. He all but tossed it into the sink before grabbing a new glass for Adam.

“If you’re worried about my inhibitions, don’t be,” Adam said, leaning against the counter and popping his hip just enough to accentuate the slight curve of his figure. “I can’t think of a single thing you can do to me that I would refuse.”

Chilton set down the fresh glass of water, his hands shaking slightly as he poured himself a glass of wine. “Are you this forward with everyone you interview?” he asked, Adam not sure if he was joking or not.

“No.” Adam took his glass and walked Chilton back into the piano room. “Unfortunately, _Urbane_ is a magazine dealing mostly with mass media and pop culture. However, I’ve convinced my editors that we should feature articles to appeal to a more elite crowd. It’s so easy to slip into tabloid journalism and I’ll be damned if I see _Urbane_ make the same mistakes so many magazines before us did.”

“So you decide to write on the position of mental health facilities in the United States.”

“The world is fascinated by serial killers.”

Chilton scoffed. “I won’t argue with you there.”

“But through this morbid curiosity I want to promote what it is you do. To acknowledge what you do for all of us by keeping them locked away. Studying them. I’ve read your books.” Adam looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, as if he struggled to remember the sentence that he had spent last night making sure he had memorized. “‘The difficulty in studying the intelligent psychopath is that he is much too sophisticated for testing in any standard idiom.’ It’s wonderful insight. Too many people think of your position as a sort of zookeeper, failing to acknowledge that you are, after all, an academic.”

“I do believe in the ‘Publish or Perish’ mantra.”

Adam took the audio recorder from his pocket and set it on the arm of the chair. Be it the wine or the flattery, Chilton was starting to act like he did when they were in his office. Adam leaned back in his chair, spreading his legs and rolling his hips just enough to accentuate his bulge without drawing too much attention to it. Chilton was no longer as shy as he was a few minutes ago. The look in his dark eyes was calculating and ravenous.

There were no wrong answers in this interview, and providing Adam with anything would be sweetly rewarded.

Adam was patient as the evening turned to night. He let Chilton talk about himself, knowing that sooner or later he was bound to give something away. It is always worth the wait, he reminded himself. These pretentious doctors love hearing themselves talk, but Adam always has ways to make sure that it is worth the wait.

“Thank you for bearing with me,” Adam said, turning off his audio recorder with two hours of material. “I know you're probably used to scholarly journals interviewing you. I can tell - you’ve given me some excellent material. I hope being interviewed by a layman wasn't too tedious.”

“Not at all,” Dr. Chilton said, sitting back and toying with the stem of his empty wine glass. “As a matter of fact I find you to be quite stimulating, Mr. Towers.”

Adam smiled as he got to his feet and approached Dr. Chilton, staring down at him as he stood with Chilton’s legs between his own. He moaned softly as Chilton reached up and caressed his hip, guiding him down onto his lap.

“Anything else you want to tell me?” Adam asked, sitting down and holding onto his shoulders. “Any projects? New cases?”

“Is that what you want to talk about?”

“Of course. I should know if you have any current… developments.” Adam trailed his hand across Chilton’s chest and down, lightly groping him. “You’d tell me, wouldn’t you? Let me break the story?”

Chilton groaned as Adam stroked his erection through his trousers. Words started to form on his lips as his breath staggered. Adam tilted his head, knowing what Chilton wanted. In an instant Chilton had dragged their bodies together, gripped his hair, pulled down the collar of Adam’s turtleneck, and roughly kissed his neck, hands wandering over Adam’s body as Chilton breathed in luxuriously.

“I know that your patients have their confidentiality,” Adam said as he loosened Chilton’s tie and kissed his hair. “But off the record you can tell me, can’t you? Let me take a peek behind the curtains. I’d hate to have this distract us when we go up to your room.”

“There are two cases, one on-the-record and one off,” Chilton mumbled into Adam’s skin before kissing him behind his ear. “The off-record case is in regards to a man who works for the FBI who I think should probably have a room in my institution. He has a unique cocktail of personality disorders and neuroses that makes him a highly skilled profiler. That same cocktail could also make him a brutally sadistic and manipulative killer. Unfortunately, he won’t let me interview him. He got himself a different psychologist. I’m trying to work out a deal with his doctor for one short session.

“The on-record case isn’t exactly mine but I was consulted on it a few days ago and it might make a better story. There are five brothers who came in from Denmark to be studied by the doctors at Johns Hopkins. They are the product of some sort of genetic experimentation that combined modified animal semen and human stem cells.”

“What?” Adam said, putting some distance between himself and Chilton so he could give him an expression of confused bewilderment that he had rehearsed many times before even coming to the States. “That can’t be right.”

“That’s what I thought at first too. From the standpoint of all known science and modern medicine, they shouldn’t even be alive. But they are.”

“Was this some sort of government-”

“-No. Their father was a doctor and a scientist and began playing god as soon as he learned that he was infertile. He killed the mothers of his sons and kept the women’s bodies on display in a secret room in his basement. His sons are all middle-aged men now, all in need of extensive therapy. The ones with more animal DNA are impulsive and emotional, one extraordinarily violent and the other a compulsive masturbator. Of course there is also the concern that they may follow in their father’s sociopathic footsteps.”

“I’m amazed that they haven’t made international headlines yet.”

“The brothers are very private and a few of them are quite intelligent. When this makes the news it will be because they decided to make the information public. I know I made them sound troubled but they’re damn knowledgeable. Even the more impulsive ones are remarkably sharp. The two who had jobs were both teachers.” Chilton stopped to think about this for a second. “The man from the other case is a teacher too. Might be a study there. Anyways, a colleague of mine asked if I could recommend a few therapists who could handle them outside of an institutional setting.”

“Well,” said Adam, nuzzling into Chilton’s chest. “I’ll let you know if I get enough information to break the story. Maybe I can convince some of them to have private interviews with you.”

“Not interviews like this, I hope,” Chilton murmured as he groped Adam’s ass. “And… now that my latest news is out of the way…”

Adam hummed contentedly into Chilton’s shoulder as he unbuttoned his shirt. He stood, dragging Chilton to his feet with wandering hands and desperate kisses. Ever since he had become a professional journalist he had conducted his interviews like this and had long ago lost count of how many people he had rewarded with sex. Sex became part of his job; and as perfect as that would have sounded to him when this all started, now he was just acutely aware of how impersonal it can be.

As Chilton led him upstairs to his bedroom Adam tried not to think about how he hadn’t been truly intimate with anyone in years. Marriages and careers were ruined over his affairs but he could barely remember any of them. It was no wonder that he needed something more to feel the rush that sex used to give him. He had experimented with various drugs only briefly before he picked up a story of Catherine Tramell.

It was then that he had discovered something that made him feel so much more than he ever remembered experiencing through sex.

As soon as they got into the bedroom Adam pulled Chilton into his arms and kissed him, pinning him against the door. Chilton moaned in surrender as Adam unbuttoned his jacket and pulled it off of him. Licking and nipping at Adam’s lips, Chilton tossed his tie and Adam’s scarf into a pile on the floor.

“Adam?” he said softly against his mouth as Adam unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way. “Are you sure there’s nothing that you would refuse?”

Adam chuckled low. He stripped off his blazer and turtleneck before he pulled Chilton close to him again, giving him a moment to revel in the sensation of skin against skin. “Is there something you would like to try with me, Doctor?”

“Well…”

He watched as Chilton stepped back and took off his shoes. One and the other slipped off of him, Chilton taking his time making sure that they were aligned right where they wanted them to be against the wall.

“Doctor?”

“Yes yes, of course. I… right.”

Even in the soft light of the bedroom Chilton looked flushed; a blush creeped up his neck and settled in his ears and cheeks. He took an unsteady breath before unzipping his pants and carefully stepping out of them. Eye contact became incredibly difficult for the doctor, who stood in his bedroom wearing mid-thigh stockings, a garter belt, and lace panties. Adam couldn’t hide an amused smile. It was one thing to have already seen influential men wearing lingerie under their suits, it was another thing to know when one undeniably is, and it’s yet another thing to actually see it with his own eyes.

Chilton folded his trousers and slipped his shirt the rest of the way off, leaving them in a tiny pile on top of his hamper. He cleared his throat as he adjusted a crease on one of his stockings.

“I, erm…”

“You’re gorgeous,” Adam said as he stepped forward and caressed the lace covering Chilton’s hip. “You don’t happen to have some heels you can put on for me?”

Chilton’s blush darkened as he nodded and stepped past Adam towards his closet. Adam stripped out of everything but his underwear and glanced around the room, tossing a condom and lube packet from his wallet onto the bed. The room was sparsely decorated, nothing like the maximalist chambers of lawyers and parliament members that he was used to seeing. There was very little furniture aside from the bed, a bookshelf, and a hideous wrought iron floor lamp in the corner. The bed was as minimalist and modern as the rest of the house, a far cry from the four-poster beds with extravagant headboards that he had strapped his other victims to. He lightly kicked one of the short legs that held the bed up and off the floor. At least there was some anchor to tie Chilton to so he wouldn’t have to improvise too much when the time came.

Chilton stepped back into the room royal blue high heels covered in shimmering rhinestones. They were as extravagant and gaudy as the rest of him. He took small steps, wobbling slightly when he looked up at Adam and stopped paying attention to the ground. Adam smiled and met him halfway to the bed.

“Have people seen you like this before?” Adam asked, kissing Chilton’s cheek and stroking him through lace panties. The delicate fabric was barely enough to contain him, his hard cock pinned to his body and clearly outlined by strained fabric.

Chilton shook his head, taking Adam’s arm to steady himself. “You’re the first.”

“You have no idea how badly I want you right now,” Adam said as he guided Chilton to the bed. “This is a look that suits you perfectly, Dr. Chilton.”

“Frederick,” he said, sitting down on the edge of the mattress and scooting back onto the bed. “Please.”

“Frederick,” Adam echoed, climbing on top of him and kissing him deeply. “Do you have any toys you want to play with, Freddie?”

“Just Frederick,” Chilton said with a soft moan as Adam lightly nipped at his neck. “And no.”

Adam sat back and took off his underwear, exposing himself to Chilton for the first time. He smiled at the way Chilton’s breath trembled as he rolled his lace-adorned hips in need. Adam lifted one of Chilton’s stocking-clad legs, caressing the elegant curve his shoes created and kissing along his calf.

“I want to ride you,” Adam said softly as he left a wet trail of kisses.

“I need you inside me, Adam,” Chilton said, spreading his legs a little wider as if presenting more of himself could change Adam’s mind. “Please. I need you to take control.”

Adam smiled against the stocking’s soft fabric.

The more power they have the more insecure they are.

“I’ll ride you,” Adam said, his voice a bit more forceful than it was before. “And will tie you down when I do it. Then, after I’ve used you that way, I’ll fuck you. You will remain tied to the bed and you will be gagged with these pretty little panties of yours. Do you understand, Frederick?”

“Yes, Ada- erm. Yes, Mr. Towers.”

“Good boy. Now, tell me, do you have anything I could strap you down with?”

Chilton directed him to a tidy collection of belts and ties in his closet. Adam gathered them all and began fashioning them into an elaborate system to secure Chilton to the bed. The lace panties turned dark as they were stained with pre-come and Chilton lightly pulled against the restraints that bound his legs together. By the time he was done Chilton’s cock had slipped out of its confines, aching to be touched.

“Eager, aren’t we?” Adam hissed as he tightened the knot around Chilton’s wrists. “Well, since you’ve been so good, Frederick, I think we’re ready to start.”

Chilton moaned, quiet and trembling as Adam helped his cock out of the tight lace confines. Chilton cut, sleek, and Adam was mildly surprised that it wasn’t pierced. A sharp cry was pulled out of him as Adam stroked him, the sounds quickly subsiding into gentle, delicate, helpless whimpers.

Adam took the condom out of its packet and into his mouth before leaning down and rolling it onto Chilton’s cock. Adam closed his eyes and relaxed his throat, taking as much of Chilton in as he could. Licking and sucking on him, Adam opened the lube packet, slicked up his fingers, reached behind himself, and began opening himself.

“Oh God,” Chilton whispered as he watched Adam work himself open. “Oh God.”

Adam’s eyes darkened as he pulled out his fingers and released Chilton from his mouth. He stroked Chilton one more time, spreading what was left of the lube down his shaft. Then, in one movement, he straddled Chilton’s hips and impaled himself. A moan filled the bedroom, Chilton helpless as he was finally surrounded by Adam’s tight body. Adam simply threw back his head and breathed in, as if he could inhale the moment like smoke. His eyes drifted shut as he rolled his hips, getting used to the sensation of Chilton inside him.

“Frederick,” Adam said, his voice dreamlike as he still moved himself slowly on Chilton’s cock. “I know the psychiatric community is divided on this. I want to know your professional opinion.”

“On – on what?”

Adam only hummed contentedly, arching his back and bracing his hands on Chilton’s legs as he began riding him. He sighed, the sound languorous compared to Chilton’s desperate moans.

“Sex addiction,” Adam finally said. “Is it an addiction? Heroin is an addiction. Gambling is an addiction. But it isn’t like that is it?

Chilton only bucked his hips and groaned in response. Adam looked down at him and leaned forward, putting his hands on Chilton’s chest as he rode a little harder.

“Because,” Adam continued, “I feel like I could do this for hours. Riding you. Until I’m raw. Until my legs give out. And even after I come over and over I still need more. And I’ll go out and get it.”

Chilton gasped as Adam’s hands brushed over and toyed with sensitive nipples. He bit his lip and closed his eyes.

“I don’t think it’s an addiction,” Chilton said. “Do you do it even though you don’t want to?”

“No, I always want to.”

“It could be hypersexual compulsive behavior. But who’s – who’s to say what that even means.” Chilton said before throwing his head back and gasping as Adam bent down and kissed his neck. “It’s a way of trying to set a norm of how many sexual partners one should or should not have and that’s absurd. We aren’t puritans anymore. If it’s affecting your health or finances or you’re just doing it because you feel you need to do it then you might want to consider therapy. Or if it keeps you from forming meaningful relationships – if that’s something you want from life.”

Adam pulled himself almost all the way off before slamming back down, both men crying out in pleasure. If Chilton kept talking, Adam didn’t hear a word he said as he reached down to stroke himself. He spasmed around Chilton and ordered him not to come quite yet. Adam closed his eyes, the room and the drone of Chilton’s voice falling away. He was alone in darkness, only sensation surrounded him and his mind felt light in his skull.

“Frederick,” Adam said. “I’m gonna come. I want you to open your mouth for me.”

Chilton obeyed, finally falling silent as he waited. Quiet whines formed in the back of his throat as he looked up at Adam with large dark eyes.

Adam quickly returned to that empty place, where it’s just him, riding some hollow figure and stroking himself. All was touch. Was shots of pleasure. All was the slight tingling of his cheeks as he blushed and the sound of the moans that escaped his body with each movement. His breath hitched in his throat and it gave way to a bright white blankness that for an intoxicating moment made him forget the barrenness that followed.

Chilton’s grunts and gasps brought him back to the room. Adam looked down and saw the doctor, his back arched as much as it could and an expression of ecstasy on his come-streaked face. And in an instant an intense feeling of jealousy swept over Adam. He still rode Chilton as his mind shifted to the only thing he had left to do.

“Frederick,” he said, kissing along his jaw before licking the sex off of his lips. “I’m going to fuck you now, but first I think I’ll help myself to a drink from your kitchen. Be a good boy, now. I’ll be right back.”

Chilton only nodded as Adam lifted himself off of his spent cock. Adam disposed of the condom and walked nude out of the bedroom, lubrication seeping out of him and dripping down the back of his thighs. He only vaguely regarded the large curtain-less window he had to pass by as he descended the stairs.

His office was easy enough to find, and as organized and clean as the rest of Chilton’s home. Careful not to sit down, Adam flipped through the notes written in the legal pad sitting on Chilton’s desk. Sure enough, only a few pages down the name Thanatos appeared once more. Five Thanatos names appeared beside the names of five doctors. He read the first entry.

> Elias Thanatos (compulsive masturbator) – Dr. Hannibal Lecter

It was a start.

He took the entire legal pad and brought it to a table in the foyer that had a massive vase filled with silk flowers. Adam scoffed at the unnecessary extravagance of it before heading to the kitchen.

All he needed was a knife and a towel to hold it with. Of course his DNA is all over Chilton and the bedroom, but he had always made a practice of not leaving his finger prints on the murder weapon. He was fairly confident he wouldn’t be a suspect in this. After all, he and Dr. Chilton were practically strangers. And as soon as he got what he needed from the Thanatos brothers he was going to go back to London.

First came the towels, all tucked away in a drawer under the kitchen phone. An address book lay open to entries for a few other Chiltons, a pen resting on the counter; but that’s not what caught Adam’s attention. He made a quick mental note of the last name on the page.

> Jack Crawford – FBI Agent

Adam shrugged and grabbed the first towel he saw. It made sense, he supposed. Chilton and the FBI were both in the business of dealing with serial killers. He made his way to the knife block and saw a pad of sticky notes sitting on the counter beside a wall calendar. He read the message on the top note.

> Call Hannibal & Crawford re dinner. possible Will Graham interview

Adam took a long and simple chef’s knife from the block and peeled off the top sticky note. It must be the other case Chilton was talking about earlier. Well, if he reaches a dead end with Thanatos at least now he can fall back on this Will Graham. He carried it out of the kitchen with him and attached it to the legal pad he took from the office. Now, standing in the middle of the foyer holding a knife and towel, there was only one thing left to do.

Adam smiled down at Chilton as he entered the room, knife wrapped in the towel. Again he was hit with a pang of jealousy as he saw Chilton lying in bed, covered in come and sweat. Looking perfectly sated.

“Did you give yourself a tour of my home?” Chilton asked, sounding only slightly impatient.

“It’s a nice home,” Adam said, returning to the bed and straddling Chilton again. He rubbed his ass against the doctor’s soft cock until he started to get hard again. “Don’t you still want me?”

“Of course I want you.” Chilton looked down at the towel that now lay beside him in bed. “What’s that?”

Adam kissed him as he took out the blade and pressed the flat of it against Chilton’s warm skin.

“I thought we could have a little fun,” Adam said, his voice sweet.

“Please don’t cut them off. It’s Leavers lace and cost me more than I care to admit.”

Adam sat back, looking down at Chilton, unable to hide the anticipatory smile in his eyes.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not gonna cut your panties off you.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

Adam didn’t need any more of a prompt than that to raise the knife and slash open Chilton’s throat. Blood sprayed up onto Adam, covering his face, arms, and chest. He closed his eyes and moaned into the sensation of Chilton struggling under him. The movement between his legs was unlike anything any man had given him during sex. Chilton was literally bucking up against him like his life depended on it.

Adam let his mind drift back to the room. Chilton was taking a lot longer than most to fall still under him. When he looked down he saw Chilton staring up at him in horror, hands free from their binds and covering the gaping wound in his neck. Blood was still spilling out through his fingers, but Chilton was still very much alive.

“It’s my own damn fault,” Adam muttered, bringing down the knife and slashing at Chilton’s hands before he stabbed him in the chest. “For not bringing my own rope. Ties can fall apart so easily.”

Terrified tears streaked Chilton’s face as more of his blood stained his body and the sheets. “God,” he said. “Oh God. Don’t do this. Don’t do this to me.”

Adam clenched his teeth. “It’s death! Just take it! Why don’t you die like everyone else?! Just go!”

“God.”

Frustrated, Adam climbed off Chilton and flipped him over on the bed. He pressed Chilton’s face down into a pillow and his struggle intensified. Bound legs squirmed and flopped on the mattress like a fish thrown onto the sand. Adam raised the knife and drove it into Chilton’s back. Over and over until Chilton had finally stopped moving.

“Fuck you,” Adam groaned, stabbing the knife into the wall as he left the bedroom to find Chilton’s shower.

Adam cleaned off quickly. Even though nobody was going to come wandering into the house it was still best to not hang around a crime scene. He dried himself off and walked back into the bedroom, part of him expecting to see Chilton crawling out of bed and fishing his cell phone out of his trouser pocket. But no, he lay there, just as Adam left him, wounds covering his body.

Aside from his hair being slightly damp, Adam left the bedroom looking the same as he did when Chilton brought him up. He picked up what he had taken from Chilton’s office and kitchen and walked right out the front door and into the night. The few other houses in view had their lights out. If anyone knew he was there, there certainly wasn’t anyone who knew that he was leaving.

Successful and feeling mildly satisfied, Adam sat in his car and typed his hotel’s address into the GPS. He had made it out of the driveway and onto the street when he heard shattering glass, a loud crash, and a piercing alarm.

Looking back at the house Adam saw a broken window. On the front yard was what looked like the remains of a hideous wrought iron floor lamp. Then he remembered the burglar alarm.

The police could show up at any minute.

Adam stared up at the window, unsure if he should feel fury or awe.

“How the hell are you still alive?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm always a slut for immortal!Chilton


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a chapter so long that it made chapters. I am currently finishing up Chapter Four pt. 2., which has been renamed Chapter Five. Sorry about the delay in posts.

Will Graham awoke to his phone ringing and a pounding headache. He felt something warm and heavy lift off of him and he thought it was one of his dogs until he remembered that he wasn't in his own home.  
   
Hannibal.  
   
He remembered Hannibal and the impossibly soft robe that was wrapped around him. He remembered Elias and drinking a bottle of whiskey and going over his latest case and crying and begging Hannibal to sleep holding him to make sure he was safe and - oh no.  
   
The phone rang again.  
   
He made a damn fool of himself in front of his therapist. Why did he have to drink that much? Why was it so bright in the morning?  
   
“It's Jack Crawford,” Hannibal said as the phone continued to ring.  
   
“I’d better answer.”  
   
Will squinted at the bright light of the phone screen that Hannibal lowered down in front of him. Jack’s name glowed in blindingly white letters and he couldn’t help but to feel like he had been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.  
   
“H’lo?” Will mumbled as he answered the phone and turned his face towards the pillow so the room would stop seeming so bright.  
   
“Will, did I wake you up?”  
   
“Yea-”  
   
“The Tramell copycat was active last night.”  
   
Will knew that he would soon need to head out the door and to another crime scene like Jack wanted him to, but instead he sank deeper into the pillow. He took a steady breath to mentally prepare himself for another day of analysis. Hannibal’s arm was draped over him again and Will smiled at the comforting pressure it offered.  
   
“The copycat’s moving faster,” Will said, lifting his head off the pillow slightly so he could speak. “That’s two consecutive nights they’ve been active. We’ll need to move quickly before they can find a new target.”  
   
“The target was Dr. Chilton.”  
   
Will lay unmoving, eyes closed and body tense as he remembered how this copycat kills his victims. He felt Hannibal’s arm tighten around him.  
   
“I’m sorry,” Will finally said.  
   
“He survived.”  
   
“What?”  
   
“Chilton’s alive. Lost over 40 percent of his blood. Really, he shouldn’t have been able to live through that. He’s been in surgery all night, now we’re waiting for him to wake up.”  
   
“Where are you?”  
   
“Noble Hills Healthcare Center. I want you to talk to him before you go over to the crime scene.”  
   
“Of course. I’ll head over as soon as possible.”  
   
“Thank you, Will.”  
   
Will hung up but didn’t move from his position in bed. He sighed as he felt Hannibal breathe against his hair.  
   
“You heard that, Hannibal?”  
   
“About Chilton?”  
   
“Yeah.” Will sighed. “I’ll leave in about 45. Jack’s expecting me to leave from Wolf Trap.”  
   
“And you don’t want to explain an early arrival.”  
   
Will turned in Hannibal’s arms, looking into his eyes for the first time that morning. Hannibal was different in the mornings, Will thought. His hair was slightly mussed and his clothes were wrinkled. There was a sort of contented sleepiness in his eyes that made him look like he could fall back asleep if he could just close them for a few short minutes.  
   
He put a hand on Hannibal’s hip. “I don’t want Jack to think that I’m so unstable that I couldn’t go home after our meeting.”  
   
“Is that why?”  
   
“Well…” Will smiled and blinked as Hannibal moved a curl of hair from out of his eyes. “This isn’t exactly on the level, is it? I mean, you’re not supposed to wake up next to a patient.”  
   
“Nor am I to have dinner with a patient. Our joint visits to see Abigail cross that line as well.”  
   
“You know this is different, Hannibal.”  
   
“We have only shared a bed in a literal sense,” Hannibal said as Will wrapped an arm around his waist. “Perhaps I should have returned to my bed after I moved your clothes to the drier, but you were restless. Even in your sleep.”  
   
“I was worried about you last night. The thought of you being in danger… of him hurting you. I… I liked having you here.” Will closed his eyes and nuzzled the side of his face against the pillow. “I worry about the assumptions that Jack would make about us.”  
   
“You think he would assume that our relationship is sexual?”  
   
“I know the forensic investigators we work with have been speculating. They are certain that any interest we have in each other goes beyond the bounds of friendship. I don't blame them, I suppose. I do spend a lot of time over here.”  
   
“We could meet less freq-”  
   
“No. Let them talk. We know where we stand with each other. That should be enough.“ Will opened one eye and looked up at Hannibal. “Although I do worry that if Jack thinks you're not impartial that he would have me see someone else. So I'll stay in bed a little longer. Let him think I'm coming from further away.”  
   
Hannibal hummed softly in acceptance, trailing his fingertips down Will’s arm in a lazy winding path. “Let me retrieve your clothes and make breakfast for you. You’ll need something to eat if you want to get rid of your hangover.”  
   
Will hesitated before reluctantly letting go of Hannibal. The warmth he had grown familiar to left, the bed dipping as Hannibal sat up and left him alone in the bedroom once more. He pulled Hannibal's still warm pillow into his arms and breathed it in, the scent a gentle reminder and comfort.  
   
♉♉♉  
   
Elias filled his head with images of handsome men as he sat in his and Gabriel’s bathroom. He had been looking for them, examining doctors and passers-by to determine if he was indeed attracted to them. As it turned out, attractive men were much harder for Elias to come across than attractive women. The eyes of one. The legs of another. Elias cobbled them together into an appealing and imaginary form as he stroked himself, imagining rough hands against his skin and comforting low voices.  
   
An image of Will flashed into his mind and he had to stop. Everyone he had ever touched himself over Elias was positive that they would accept him if he made the right advances. Will, clearly, wanted no part of him. Elias choked on a dry sob as he remembered that. He had spent all last night writing an apology letter to him and was still exhausted. Once he came he would go right to sleep, Elias decided. He barely slept at all last night before Gabriel dragged him out the door for early morning blood work.  
   
Elias returned to the fantasy, the men slightly blurry now. Their presence was starting to be overpowered by Elias’ need to climax, his mind going blank as he pumped his cock before his erection could subside.  
   
This is stupid, Elias decided, tired eyes watering. There are just too many ugly men in the world. He wouldn’t want to do any of them.  
   
The visions continued to falter and blur until Elias saw Will Graham kneeling between his legs, smiling up at him. Elias bit his lip and gasped as he came onto his hand and the wad of toilet paper. He whimpered, his image of Will now splattered in his sex. Another rope of come shot out of him.  
   
This was wrong. He knew it was. But it was too late for him to stop.  
   
Gabriel had come back to the room and made himself comfortable at the small desk by the time Elias had finished cleaning himself up. Elias regarded him with a slight nod.  
   
“I talked to Mr. Chambal, your case worker,” Gabriel said as Elias sat down on his bed. “He says that he wants to talk to you briefly this afternoon, but he thinks that he will be able to convince Dr. Lecter to take you as a patient again.”  
   
“Really?”  
   
“Well, we can’t say for sure. That’s ultimately up to Dr. Lecter. But if all goes right then you’ll probably be able to see him tomorrow like we initially scheduled.”      
   
“He should accept that,” Elias said as he lay down and wrapped blankets around himself. “We paid for his services, didn’t we? And he said some things that were just not true. He owes me an apology and-”  
   
“Elias,” Gabriel said, his voice stern enough for Elias to decide not to point out that he had just interrupted him. “If Dr. Lecter takes you as a patient again I want you to thank him, apologize to him, and then ask him to hand your apology letter to Will. Can you just do this?” He sighed and ran his hands down his face as Elias settled into bed. “I just want to get back on schedule. And after Dr. Evans… well… I have to figure out who’s going to handle our case now.”  
   
“Gabriel?”  
   
“Yes?”  
   
“When can we go home?”  
   
“I don’t know.”  
   
Elias sighed into the pillow, one last image of Will flashing into his mind. Naked, spent, and filthy on the bathroom floor.  
   
♉♉♉  
   
“Dr. Lecter,” Jack said, standing up as Hannibal walked into the ICU. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”  
   
“It’s no trouble at all. There were just a few things that needed my attention at home before I left. I’m sorry I kept the two of you waiting,” Hannibal said, nodding to both Jack and Will.  
   
Will tried not to smile at this. Jack had called Hannibal while they were eating breakfast together in the guest room. It wasn’t necessarily a lie, but Will was impressed at how little Hannibal had given away.  
   
“Will,” Jack said, “I called Hannibal over to help us talk to Chilton. I wanted someone who he respects as a psychologist to be able to talk to him; especially since he refused to say a word to the therapists and social workers who came in earlier. And since Alana is currently visiting family in Chicago it seems like we have a shortage of psychotherapists who have his respect.”  
   
“And how is our Dr. Chilton,” Hannibal asked, glancing to the closed door to Chilton’s room that Will and Jack stood beside.  
   
“He’s responsive,” Jack said. “He woke up about an hour ago and still seems a little shaken. There’s no sign of any drug in his system aside from a moderate amount of alcohol. DNA samples were taken from semen on Chilton’s body and the bedsheets and the lab’s currently running it against our databases.”  
   
“That probably rules out Scotland Yard’s female killer theory,” Will said.  
   
“You were right on that one. Although this does make me wonder why this particular attack is different. He’s been so careful.”  
   
“Ran out of condoms?” Will shrugged. “It’s possible that he took advantage of the timing of this. Chilton wouldn’t be expected to be anywhere until early next week. Long enough for the killer to be oceans away, especially if he isn’t in any databases.”  
   
Jack shook his head. “I still don’t like the inconsistency.”  
   
“Did anyone determine what was taken?”  
   
“Not yet. Chilton’s office looked undisturbed compared to how Evans’ looked.  I’m uncertain if our killer took anything at all. But then, Chilton seems rather organized. I’m sure he’ll notice what’s missing as soon as he gets home.”  
   
Chilton’s doctor stepped out of his room and regarded them with a curt nod as her RNs filed into the hall.  
   
“He says he’s ready to talk about what happened,” she said, absently paging through his file. “But between the intubation tube and the injury it hurts for him to talk. He’s also on Oxycodone so he may not be incredibly lucid but he’s present enough to talk with.”  
   
Will and Hannibal thanked the doctor before stepping into Chilton’s room. Will glanced past the privacy curtain to see Chilton, lying on the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around his neck, arms, and chest. An IV drip hung beside his bed and the pulse monitor on his hand glowed a soft red. Like Hannibal, it was odd for Will to see Chilton out of his suits - although for an entirely different reason. Hannibal’s suits were an extension of himself, his poise and noble temperament reflected in them. Chilton’s suits were armor and seeing him without them was like seeing a hermit crab without its shell.     
   
“Would you like me to go in first?” Hannibal asked Will softly. “To see if he would be okay with talking about what happened.”  
   
Will nodded and watched through a gap in the curtain as Hannibal approached Chilton and sat down in the visitor’s chair beside him.  
   
“Dr. Lecter,” Chilton greeted, sounding exactly as he would in his office, if not slightly raspier. “Finally someone intelligent to talk to.”  
   
“You must forgive Noble Hills for not having anyone on call to treat someone of your caliber.”  
   
“If I wanted lessons in forgiveness, Hannibal, I would have called the hospital chaplain.”  
   
“I see that your humor has been unscathed.”  
   
“He didn’t cut me that deep,” Chilton said with a scoff. “When I told him that I wanted to feel him inside of me this wasn’t what I meant. I take it you’ve heard details of the case from Jack?”  
   
“I heard that much, yes.”  
   
Chilton sighed and winced at the effort that took. “I have a feeling that TattleCrime is going to make my life very difficult over the next few weeks. And after all those favors I did for her. If you see Freddie Lounds milling about, let her know that I’m willing to bargain to keep some details of that encounter off the Internet. I have a reputation to keep up and am of no use to her if she jeopardizes my job.”  
   
“I will,” Hannibal said. “And speaking of the details, you know Will Graham will have to speak with you about what happened. This is most likely tied to an international serial killer investigation. Is it alright if he asks you a few questions?”  
   
“He’s right behind the curtain, I know. Might as well get this over with.”   
   
Will was about to walk in when he stopped and saw Hannibal get to his feet and approach the curtain. He knew he needed to focus on Chilton now, but everything Hannibal did suddenly seemed so entrancing. Had he always been like this? Or was he being particularly chivalrous now that they had been, to a degree, intimate with each other? Will couldn’t tell, but either way he was enjoying it.  
   
Hannibal said nothing when he parted the curtain. He only smiled and stepped to the side, just as he opened his office door for Will before their sessions. Will didn’t even put his glasses on as he stepped into the room. Thick rimmed glasses: the shield he used to help him through so many awkward conversations. With Hannibal standing right beside him they didn’t feel as necessary anymore.  
   
“No!” Chilton shouted, bringing Will back to his senses. “Stay away from me!”  
   
“Frederick,” Hannibal said, his voice forceful but calm. “What’s wrong?”  
   
“Get him away!”  
   
Will backed up into the curtains, not sure what was going on.  
   
“Go away!”  
   
Chilton grabbed a Styrofoam cup of ice from the bedside table the flung it at Will, the cup hitting him dully as ice spilled all over the floor. He wadded up a surgery pamphlet from the bedside table and threw it at him too. Blood blossomed under white bandages and the IV fell out of him as his hands scrambled across the sheets for more things to throw.  
   
Will rushed past the curtain and back into the hall as Hannibal called the nurse from Chilton’s intercom. Hannibal was about to speak when Chilton grasped his wrist.  
   
“Don’t let him hurt me,” he said, eyes wide as he pleaded with Hannibal. “Don’t let Will hurt me again.”  
   
Will stood out in the hall, not saying anything as Jack demanded to know what was going on. Several nurses ran down the hall and into Chilton’s room as the sound of a flat-lining EKG blared from the door. He still said nothing until Hannibal emerged a few minutes later.   
   
“What happened?”  
   
“He’ll be alright,” Hannibal said. “He had a panic attack and started removing heart monitoring equipment, thinking that he had to escape. He’s been given a sedative and is being reconnected to everything that came off of him. His burst stitches are being tended to.”  
   
“What set this off, Doctor?” Jack asked.  
   
Hannibal took a deep breath and glanced at Will. “Frederick saw Will and believed that he was his attacker.”  
   
“So the killer has a similar build to Will,” Jack said. “That’s a start.”  
   
“I should note,” Hannibal said, “That he didn’t just think that Will resembled his attacker, but he thinks that Will was his attacker.”  
   
Jack looked over at Will.  
   
“You can’t be serious,” Will said, offense lacing his voice.  
   
“Just tell me where you were last night so I can say that I acknowledged this dead-end.”  
   
“So you can defend your actions after I’m arrested for murder? Is that what you’re getting at, Jack? You can’t honestly believe that-”  
   
“You’re making this unnecessarily difficult, Will. You know this isn’t personal.”  
   
“He’s high, Jack,” Will snapped. “He’s on God-knows how many painkillers after his procedure. We’ll just question him again when he’s off them.”  
   
“Why are you avoiding the question?”  
   
“Because it’s ridiculous!”  
   
“Where were you last night, Will?!”  
   
“It doesn’t matter! Look, the attack happened at three in the morning. I was asleep.”  
   
“Is there anyone who can vouch for that?”  
   
“C’mon, Jack. You know I live alone. What are you going to do? Question my dogs?”  
   
“Will!” Jack snapped. “In case you’ve forgotten, a man, who you know, was almost killed. We have a crime scene to process and a killer to catch before he strikes again. Now, are you going to cooperate or do I have to have the lab run the semen found at the scene against your DNA?”  
   
“Jack,” Hannibal said, finally speaking up. “I can vouch for Will. I was with him last night.”  
   
Jack looked between them, waiting for Will to say something more but he remained silent.   
   
“What’s going on between you two?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer to write than anticipated but here's the Elias chapter I promised you, like, a week ago.

Adam Towers sat at the bar of the Baltimore Liberty Hotel, flipping through the pages of Dr. Evans’ planner and Dr. Chilton’s notes. Two hours ago he had left a message at the front desk for Elias to meet him as soon as he was able. According to Evans’ planner Elias should have been long finished with his hospital tests by now.

He sighed, toying with the cocktail napkin set in front of him as he ran over the notes on Elias that Chilton had made. He was fifty years old. Six feet tall. He had a harelip and was a chronic masturbator. Evans recommended that he receive psychiatric treatment to address this problem as well as his emotional dependency on his brother Gabriel. He is also 11.4% bull.

11.4%. Adam turned the number around in his head a few times before coming to the same conclusion so many doctors had made about the Thanatos family. It just couldn’t be possible. He had first heard of the brothers when he was between the thighs of a very intoxicated editor for the British Medical Journal. She had told him point-blank that Thanatos was certifiably insane and that his entire family should be locked into that old asylum listed as the return address. She had freely given him a copy of that article along with a few leads for an old case that he was tying up the loose ends of. 

However, it was clear that whatever was going on with the Thanatos family was worth about a half dozen doctors staking their careers on it. And if that alone wasn't a story then he didn't know what was. What he really needed was more material - test results and interpretations from Gabriel, the grant applicant himself. He would be far too distracted by his research for Adam to take his time seducing him, so he decided to dedicate his time to the next best thing: Gabriel’s lonely and sex-obsessed older brother, Elias.

Adam was about to have the front desk call Elias again when he saw an older man with curly hair and an ill-fitting white suit being directed his way by the bartender. He set the stolen planner and notes aside as a man who could only be Elias smiled awkwardly at him and wiped his hands on an oversized jacket.

“Hej,” Elias said his eyes bright and smile all too endearing given his condition. Adam tried to hide his disgust when Elias shook his hand, his skin clammy and slightly damp. “I got your message. You, erm, you say you are a resident at Johns Hopkins?”

“Yes,” Adam lied. If they were as private as Evans and Chilton both suggested they were then he couldn't say that he was a reporter. “You’re a fascinating case, Elias. As soon as I saw you I knew I had to have a private interview. My name is Adam, by the way. Adam Towers.”

Elias stared at Adam, completely transfixed as if Adam had just told him the secret to eternal life rather than giving him a simple introduction. Adam held still as Elias looked him over, eyes lingering on his legs and hands. It wasn’t the most awkward way that someone had checked him out, but it was up there. Elias bit his lip, thoughts visibly flickering behind his eyes as he seemed to examine every inch of Adam’s body.

“You have quite an interesting condition,” Adam said, only somewhat regaining Elias’ attention. “You and your brothers. You’re all part animal?”

“Y-yes,” Elias said, clearly forcing himself to look into Adam’s eyes.

“In what way are you your animal?”

Elias opened his mouth to speak but then stopped himself, looking as if he was struck with a very clever idea. “It shows in different ways. Take my brother, Gabriel. Ever since he was little, he would stay up all night long and he could always see very well in the dark, much better than dad or I could. Then we went to Ork to find our real dad and we found out that Gabriel is part owl. As for me, I’m part bull, And bulls happen to have the larges-”

“So Gabriel not only inherited the nocturnal behavior of an owl, but also some physical qualities in regards to his eyesight.”

Elias glared at Adam, startling him to attention. “You cut me off there. I don’t want you to do that again. You sense that?”

“I’m sorry. Please continue.”

“No. I can’t now. You ruined it. You ruined the whole line because you wanted to talk about Gabriel. Why are you asking questions about Gabriel? Why didn’t you just call him down instead of me? Do you love him or something?” Elias demanded, slamming his hand down on the bar as he raised his voice. “He’s not that great. He already has a girlfriend back in Ork anyways. Of course she’s secretly in love with me, but that still doesn’t mean that Gabriel would want you.”

“Hey,” Adam said, his voice as calm as he could muster considering half the bar was now staring at them. “Hey, take it easy. Of course I want to talk about you.”

“Okay.” Elias sniffled trying and unsuccessfully so to look nonchalant. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Well,” Adam said, gently placing a hand on Elias’ knee. “I suppose we can start at the beginning. Tell me about yourself. About living part-bull.”

Elias swallowed hard as Adam moved his hand to gently caress his thigh. “I… I don’t know. I never lived as not part-bull. Um… excuse me, I need to use the bathroom.”

Elias clambered off the bar stool, barely able to conceal the obvious erection straining against the fabric of his loose trousers. Adam sat back and smiled contentedly, watching as Elias half-ran out of the bar and towards the men’s room off the hotel lobby. Elias was emotional and short-tempered, but at least he was easy enough to manipulate. A few more suggestive glances and Adam was positive that Elias would bring him up to his hotel room. That’s where all the data was, where he could grab everything that he needed. The only problem he could think of is that most halfway decent hotels don’t have the kind of bed that accommodates the sort of bondage he used on Chilton and Evans; not to mention that Elias didn’t strike him as the type of person who would want to be tied down. He had a powerful frame and, unlike the professionals that Adam usually seduced, looked like he could easily best Adam in a fight. Perhaps he could just wear him out first and tie him down in his sleep before killing him.

Adam sighed, taking inventory of the condoms, lube, rope, and switchblade he had tucked away in his satchel. It should be enough to handle Elias. Elias, who was, in all likelihood, locked in a bathroom stall and furiously masturbating over one little touch. In any other circumstances and with any other person that would have been horrifying, but seeing how little Elias was able to control himself around him was oddly flattering. Although that could mean that it would be a long night if Elias keeps coming too soon.

It was around this point, when Adam’s thoughts were getting ahead of himself, that he realized that he was being watched. Over by the fireplace lounge was a man with a scarred face and a harelip, piercing eyes examining him. He had to be one of Elias’ brothers. Adam gave him a half-wave and was immediately motioned over. The man leaned against the fireplace mantle, examining a large taxidermied beaver.

“Hello,” Adam said to the man, satchel over his shoulder as he glanced to see if Elias was out of the bathroom yet. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“You were talking with my brother,” the man said, his voice low and dangerous. “You were the one who called him down from our rooms.”

“Yes. Erm. Who are you?”

“Franz, and if you have any questions about this family you’re to ask all of us together, is that understood?” He motioned to two other men with harelips who had been sitting quietly on a nearby couch. “We aren’t about to be separated by some… what are you anyways?”

“I’m a resident at Johns Hopkins, I merely want to know more about your case,” Adam said.

“That story is highly unlikely,” said the larger man on the couch. “There is no resident at Johns Hopkins observing our case by the name of Adam Towers.”

Adam looked between the brothers. He didn’t remember leaving his full name in the message sent to Elias’ room. “How do you know my name?”

“We heard it when you introduced yourself to Elias,” Franz said before glancing to the other brother on the couch. “Gregor has excellent hearing.”

“Did Elias ask you to do this?”

“He doesn’t need to. We’re brothers, we know what’s best for each other.”

“Besides,” Gregor said, looking up at Adam. “Elias, he… he’s like us.”

“Exactly,” Franz said, resting an arm on the fireplace mantel.

“Wait,” Adam said. “He’s ‘like you’? What does that mean?”

“It means,” Franz continued, “that people don’t search him out, offering to buy him drinks and touching him. We know what you are and we do not approve of this. This isn’t what Elias wants.”

Adam scoffed. “I think you have no idea what Elias wants.”

“He doesn’t want anything to do with a whore reporter!” Franz gripped the mantel, glaring at Adam. “And that’s what you are, aren’t you? A reporter.”

“Elias can make his own decisions.”

“Elias doesn’t know any better. This family doesn’t speak to the press, so you had better leave right away before I-”

“I’m not just going to leave because you told me to,” Adam snapped. “Why can’t I buy him a drink and talk to him? Are you jealous of him? Of knowing what he can do?”

The three brothers stared at Adam, each taken aback. Franz pursed his lips as much as he could, glaring at him. “I’ll be damned. You interrupted me.”

“Of course I interrupted you. I’m not about to stand around and listen to you insult your own brother like th-”

The next thing Adam knew Franz had taken the mounted beaver off of the mantel and was striking him over the head with it. The wooden base hit him in the jaw hard enough to send him to the floor in a crumbled heap. Adam looked up at Franz for only a brief moment before putting up his arms to defend himself. The animal came down on him again, hitting him hard on the shoulder and scraping his cheek with its claws. Across the lobby he could see the hotel clerks panicking and picking up phones. Adam felt the blood drain out of his face as he realized that it was very likely that the police would come in to question him. His face was visible on the B.S.H.C.I. security tapes. Chilton was alive and could identify him.

Adam braced himself for another blow, but it didn’t come.

“Let go of me,” Franz growled, kicking Adam’s legs. “I’m doing this for your own good, Elias.”

“Stop hurting him!”

“He’s lying to you, Elias. He’s a reporter. He just wants to write our story before Gabriel can.”

Adam looked up to see Elias holding back Franz, the taxidermy dangling from its mount and looking worse for wear.

“Franz, stop,” Gregor said, trying to coax the stuffed beaver from his hands. “You’re going to get in trouble.”

Elias managed to wrench Franz’s hands behind his back and hold him there. “Josef, go get Gabriel. He’ll know what to do.”

Josef looked to his brothers and then down at Adam before quietly running off towards the elevator. Gregor picked the stuffed beaver off the floor and put it back on the mantel, trying in vain to re-attach the head.

“Don’t you care?” Franz yelled at Elias. “This man was going to use you for information, don’t you see that? Don’t you have any pride? You want to believe this so badly even though you know it’s wrong. That’s why Gabriel sent us down here to watch you.”

Elias shoved Franz away, hurt clear in his eyes. "No he didn’t. Gabriel would trust me.”

“You know he doesn’t, Elias,” Franz said as Adam staggered to his feet. “I don’t know why you would want to do anything with _him_ anyways.”

Adam rubbed his jaw and cheek, knowing that they would be bruised and swelling soon enough. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw two policemen come through the lobby’s front door. He had to act fast.

“Elias,” he choked, trying to sound like he was close to tears as he rushed into Elias’ arms and buried his face in his chest. He gave a little pained gasp and the next thing he knew Elias’ arms were wrapped around him, heavy hands gently petting his hair.

“What’s going on here?” said one of the officers. “Who’s responsible for this mess?”

Franz shoved one of the officers aside, charging at Adam. “Get your hands off of my brother!”

The next several minutes were full of shouting and waving around Tasers all while Adam refused to lift his face from Elias’ chest. Franz was face-down on the ground with his hands to the side by the time Josef finally returned with Gabriel. There was bickering in Danish before Gabriel was able to explain to the police and hotel manager that he and his brothers were in town so that the doctors at Johns Hopkins could study their genetic abnormality. This explained Franz’s temperament, he reasoned, assuring the police that he was currently undergoing therapy for anger management.

“Sir,” one of the officers said, tapping Adam on the shoulder. “Are you hurt? Will you be pressing charges?”

Adam tensed up, glancing over his shoulder at the officer. “No. No, I won't be pressing charges.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

“Elias, can you please bring me to your room?” Adam whispered. “Please. I need some ice for my face and I would like to lie down.”

Elias looked to Gabriel, who was still talking to the manager and trying to calm down Franz. Gabriel sighed before waving Elias and Adam away. Josef watched in silence as Adam and Elias disappeared onto the elevator.

“Adam?” Elias said softly, letting go of him. “Are you alright?”

Adam nodded, lightly touching where his cheek was scratched and where his jaw was starting to swell.

“I’ll have a long talk with Franz,” Elias said. “We all will. He shouldn’t be doing things like this. He’s really being quite foolish, but I believe that he is capable of listening and reason will prevail this night.”

Adam leaned against the wall of the elevator, the dull ache in his legs only just making itself known. He glanced up at Elias for a moment before looking down at the floor. They were on their way to Elias’ room but Adam had a feeling that this was going to take much longer than he anticipated.

“He hit me with a mounted beaver,” Adam finally said.

“Be glad it wasn’t the mute swan.”

Elias led Adam off the elevator and down the hall to his room, opening the door for him.

“I share this with my brother Gabriel,” Elias said, walking Adam inside. “Don’t worry, Franz doesn’t have a key.”

Adam looked down at the two beds, one practically untouched aside from a few scattered papers and the other a mass of blankets with a roll of toilet paper sitting on the nightstand. He sat on the one that he correctly guessed was Elias’ and Elias smiled.

“I’ll get you some ice,” he said, picking up the ice bucket from the top of the dresser. “Help yourself to a drink from that shopping bag under the desk. I’ll be right back.”

Before Adam could say anything more Elias was already out the door on his mission. Adam groaned, reluctant to lie back on the bed even though he knew full-well what he had planned on doing on it. Instead he got up and fixed his hair in the mirror on the closet, fluffing it back out from where Elias had smoothed it down.

Being pressed to his chest wasn’t as bad as Adam thought it would be. Despite how unsanitary he could be Elias smelt very clean. Like fresh air with a faint hint of cologne and a very masculine musk-like scent.

Roll of toilet paper sitting next to the bed aside, Elias perhaps wasn’t as filthy as Adam thought he was.

The door opened and Elias came back in, his eyes darting around anxiously before he set the ice bucket back down. He breathed a relieved sigh when he saw Adam sitting on the bed, as if he didn’t expect him to still be there.  

“He shouldn’t have hit you,” Elias said, taking several ice cubes into a washcloth and lightly pressing it to the side of Adam’s face. Adam took it gratefully, holding it against his swollen jaw.

“But at the same time, he usually isn’t wrong about this sort of thing,” Elias continued, sitting down next to Adam. “Are you really a doctor, Adam? Or are you a reporter like Franz said? Don’t lie to me, Adam. I think I deserve to know the truth.”

Adam’s eyes scanned around the room until they landed on a small suitcase, partially opened and crammed full of books. There it was, all the research Gabriel had done, packed up just for him. No information grab had ever presented all he needed so beautifully. Wrapped up in a single package on wheels that he could roll right out of the hotel and into his car. Urbane could be saved from obscurity with this single article.

“Adam,” Elias pleaded. “Adam, please tell me.”

Adam could make almost anyone turn a blind eye to his motives if he started getting handsy with them, but after his performance to avoid the police Adam doubted that even Elias would let this question slide with a few tempting caresses.

“Yes,” Adam said. “I’m a reporter. I heard one of your doctors talking about your case and knew that it was something I needed to get out there.”

Elias blinked a few times, pouting and looking away. “So… you were using me. All this was so that… so that I could tell you about my father’s work. Not because you actually wanted to… do things with me?”

Adam looked over at Elias, his defined cheeks flushed and eyes watery.

“At first.”

“Nej.”

Elias sobbed, hiding his face from Adam as he lightly rocked himself. Adam all of the sudden felt incredibly guilty. More guilty than he felt about anything in a very long time. Sure he was planning on killing him, but at no point during that did he ever intend on hurting Elias’ feelings.

“Hey,” Adam said, scooting closer to him on the bed. “At first, yes. But that changed. The more you let me see you…”

Elias shook his head. “You’re lying.”

Adam put a hand on Elias’ knee again, although this time he didn't stroke him as much as he gave his knee a supportive squeeze. “But, you know, I just realized… nobody has ever stood up for me the way you did.”

“That can't be true.”

“It is,” Adam said, not wanting to admit it to himself but it was. It was absolutely true. “I’ve been seen as a one night stand, a quickie in a club bathroom. But once that was over or even before it began none of them actually cared about what happened to me. Nobody would ever actually risk getting hurt in order to protect me.”

Elias sniffled and looked down at the hand on his knee for a moment before gently closing his hand over it.

“And that’s the reason, Elias. Not the article, but that. That is why I want to kiss you right now.”

“You don't want to kiss me. I know men  don't want me to actually kiss them.”

“Well, in that case I am nothing like other men.”

Elias looked Adam in the eyes, still nervous but growing bolder as he blinked his tears away. Adam moved a little closer, leaned in, and gently kissed Elias’ cheek. The grip Elias had on his hand tightened as he turned his head and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. Adam pulled back, gazing up at Elias, who only looked nervous.

“D-did I do something wrong?” Elias asked.

“No. No, Elias. This is perfect.”

Adam got off the bed and kissed him again, leaning into his touch as he slowly straddled his lap. Elias kissed him over and over again, each kiss becoming more and more passionate. Adam fit easily into Elias’ arms, now grasping him close. Adam reached between them and started loosening Elias’ tie when the hotel room door opened.

“Elias, is Adam still- oh.”  

Adam struggled to stay on Elias’ lap and not go crashing to the floor as Elias panicked and tried to get to his feet. Ultimately, Elias was able to stand with Adam still clinging to him. The two of them stared dazed at each other for a moment before turning their attention to Gabriel, still standing in the doorway, looking quite shocked and refusing to meet Adam’s eyes.

“I came to see if you were okay, Adam.”

“I’m alright.”

Elias straightened up, looking down at Gabriel. “Franz said that you sent him, Josef, and Gregor to watch us.”

“I did. I’m sorry, Elias, but it seemed suspicious to me. Especially since you were already pulling on your suit as soon as you heard the words ‘private interview.’ I could only suspect that Adam is a reporter.”

“I am,” Adam said.

Gabriel nodded, still not making eye-contact with him. “We aren’t ready to release anything to the press, and if we do it will be in an academic article we will write as a family. We agreed on this, Elias.”

“I know,” Elias said, his eyes unfocused as he was clearly lost in thought. “But… erm… what if… what if Adam helped us publish it?”

Gabriel arched his brow. “Could you do that, Adam?”

“Can I?” Adam muttered, hating how overly complicated this had become. “I… I’m not sure if it’s the sort of thing you’re looking for, but I do know an editor for the British Medical Journal. I could probably convince her to do this for me, God knows that she loves it when I owe her a favor.”

“I know we would be indebted to you if you could help us with this, Mr. Towers.”

“You could pay me by giving me exclusive rights to your story.”

Elias nodded while Gabriel only frowned, thoughtful.

“I’ll have to talk with the others about this. I’m not sure that Franz will agree. If not is there anything-“

“Well, you have all night to convince him,” Adam said. “In the meanwhile, I’ll stay here and… discuss things with Elias. We can work out the details of the first installment of the series. I could get his story. Although, I can’t imagine this taking less than, oh, a few hours, isn’t that right Elias?”

Elias took a few seconds to realize what Adam was implying before he nodded in agreement.

“In fact,” Adam said, approaching Gabriel. “We might be discussing things all night, so I’d say that you have plenty of time to talk to Franz.”

“Elias,” Gabriel said, looking up at his brother. “Are you sure this is okay?”

“Gabriel,” Elias said. “Go talk to Franz.”    

Elias rushed Gabriel out the door and Adam immediately began regretting every decision he had made that brought him here. This was supposed to be a breaking story and all of the sudden he’s working out a deal that, at best, leaves his magazine with a family that in all likelihood would only really be pursued by supermarket tabloids. But there wasn’t much he could do now. He knew that he couldn’t bring himself to kill Elias. Not anymore.

It wasn’t just a matter of witnesses. So many people he had been with had tried to hide him from their families. He knew he had killed someone’s husband. Someone’s father. But he had never met the people they would be leaving behind before.

Elias stood at the door, reveling in their new privacy and looking very shy. Adam gave him a comforting smile, realizing that it was entirely possible that Elias had never been with anyone in his life. Adam approached Elias, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and pulling him into a kiss. Elias moaned softly and held Adam again.

It fascinated him. Based on Evans’ analysis and Elias’ behavior at the bar, the man was undeniably sex obsessed. But now that Adam had let him know what he wanted, Elias seemed like he would be content to just spend the rest of the night kissing him.

“Elias?” Adam said, breaking the kiss. “Would you like me to take off my clothes?”

Elias’ cheeks turned a deep red. “Are… erm… are you sure you want to?”

Adam nodded, tugging his scarf off his neck in a way that made Elias shiver. He shrugged his jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall into a pile on the floor. Quiet but audible gasps came from Elias as Adam glanced back at him before sitting on the bed.

“Do. Erm. Do you want me to take off mine too?” Elias asked, standing awkwardly between the beds as Adam took off his shoes and socks.

“Do you want to?”

Elias didn’t respond as Adam took off his turtleneck, exposing so much skin all at once. Adam tossed the shirt into the pile before fluffing his hair again. Elias didn’t get a chance to answer the question before Adam dragged him close and unbuckled his belt.

“I want you to,” Adam said, tugging the belt through its loops. “I know I want you to.”

Adam didn’t have the chance to take off anything else before Elias was on top of him, kissing and caressing him. They fell back onto the bed, Elias’ fingers tangled in Adam’s hair as Adam slipped his hands under Elias’ shirt. The kisses were warm and desperate as Elias stripped out of clothes, refusing to stop kissing Adam.

Both of them shirtless, Adam dragged Elias all the way onto the bed, setting him against the headboard and climbing on his lap once again. Elias’ hands were restless, never certain where to settle or how to hold Adam. Somewhere in the mess of grabbing and kisses Adam was able to slip a hand between them and grope Elias for the first time. Elias gasped, breaking the kiss as his grip around Adam tightened.

“Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow.”

“Elias, are you alright?” Adam kept feeling him up, stopping when he reached a dark sticky spot that Elias immediately jolted away from. “Did you just come?”

Elias breathed heavily, still gripping Adam. He muttered something in Danish before kissing him again. Adam unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers, surprised first that Elias was wearing nothing underneath and second that Elias was extraordinarily and abnormally large. Adam sat back, staring down at Elias’ massive and spent cock. The sheer mass of it was so arresting and unlike anything Adam had ever encountered before that he was genuinely concerned that Elias had some sort of tumor that let it grow to such immense proportions. Adam opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally settling on just the right thing to say.

“Holy fuckin’ shit.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“Not what I was reacting to.”

“Oh.”

Adam tugged Elias’ trousers the rest of the way off, barely able to look away from Elias’ almost grotesquely large endowment. He thought about taking it. About how long he would have to spend loosening himself before Elias could even start to get inside him. It would feel like taking a fist.

“It’s not a… it’s not a problem, is it?” Elias asked, genuine concern in his eyes.

Adam unbuttoned and unzipped his own trousers as he thought. Although he wasn’t going to kill Elias he did have every intention of double-crossing him. He would merely fuck him senseless, stagger out of bed, get dressed, grab what he wanted, and leave – never to be seen or heard from again. And in a strange city in a foreign country that was entirely possible. But that first step was suddenly much more complicated than he would like, especially seeing Elias now after an orgasm. It looked like it had barely slowed him down. Elias lightly stroked himself, rapidly getting hard again.

“Adam,“ Elias repeated. “There's nothing wrong with it, is there?”

“No, Elias. It's… I can handle it.”

Elias’ eyes lit up. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Adam took off his underwear and leaned off the bed to take the bottle of lube from his satchel. “If you help stretch me. And then go slow. At first, at least.”

“‘At first’?”

“Until I’m loose. Then I want it fast and rough. I want you to show me what you can really do with that, Elias. Until you're worn out.”

Elias nodded obediently as Adam got on his knees and bent over, his head resting on the pillow while he looked coquettishly up at him. Adam squeezed some of the lube on his fingertips, reached around, and began lightly fingering himself. He watched as Elias’ eyes widened, clearly having never seen anything like this.

“Elias?” Adam said, Elias gently petting his hair as he spoke. “Elias? Have you ever been with a man before?”

“Y-yeah,” Elias said, still watching mesmerized as Adam opened himself up. “Many many men. Lots of times.”

“Are you lying to me?” Adam studied Elias’ face, eyes drifting away from him to instead focus on the sheets of the messy bed. “It’s okay if you haven’t been with a man before, Elias.”

Elias nodded, his eyes still distant.

“It’s okay if you haven’t been with anyone before.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

The bed jostled and Adam’s fingers slipped out of himself when all at once Elias was on top of him and kissing again. Elias was already hard as a pipe, his erection pressed against Adam’s hip as Elias moved him to the headboard. As they kissed, Adam coated Elias’ fingers in the lube and brought them between his legs, guiding them against his entrance.

“Open me, Elias. I – oh God!”

Elias didn’t need to be told twice as he shoved two fingers into Adam as deep as he could and then tried to shove them in even farther. Adam moaned, tilting his head back so Elias could kiss along his throat. Although he was clumsy and blatantly inexperienced, Adam was actually enjoying this. The excessive kissing, the uncertain hands, the almost nervous way that Elias’ tongue slipped into his mouth despite being welcomed by him so many times before. Adam meant so much more to Elias than he did to any politician who had ever risked their career and marriage for just one night with him.

The thought of it meaning something to anyone was nearly enough to frighten Adam away. If it wasn’t for the decades’ worth of research sitting in the corner of the room.

If it wasn’t for Elias’ mouth on his neck.

“I am part bull,” Elias said, his voice and moustache vibrating against Adam’s skin. “I’m my father’s first human creation, so he wasn’t about to use just any bull.”

“Oh?” Adam asked, gasping as Elias shoved in another finger alongside the first two.

“He used a special bull. There was a bull that was genetically modified to be designed specifically for breeding; its son then modified even further. That son, Isak II, was my second father.”

“So you are part-man and part-breeding-machine?”

Elias only nodded, trailing a hand down Adam’s smooth chest and stroking his hardening cock. Adam gripped the sheets as Elias spread his fingers inside of him. He moaned as Elias caught his mouth, their hands and tongues slowly exploring each other.

“Adam,” Elias murmured, steadily pumping him. “I want you. My beautiful Adam.”

“Yeah?” Adam eyed up Elias’ cock and swallowed hard, reminding himself of what he came here to do. “Want me to ride you? To lay you out on the bed and get on top of you, doing everything I can to make you feel good?”

“Can we do it like this? You against the headboard? Please, Adam.”

Adam breathed in a trembling gasp, knowing that Elias would probably have to come several times before he would end a session. There would be plenty of time to ride him later. Adam took the lube into his hands and spread a generous amount onto Elias’ thick and leaking cock. He opened his legs a little wider, knowing that he hadn't taken anything this large in years.

Elias pulled out his fingers and lined himself with Adam, pre-come dripping from his tip. Adam moaned as he felt it press dully against his hole before slipping into him. Only the head was in, but Elias was already panting heavily, staring down at Adam in disbelief.

“More,” Adam begged, arching his back. He was about to say it again when Elias gripped his waist and sank into him. A loud low cry was forced out of Adam as it felt like Elias was splitting him in two. He wrapped his legs around Elias’ hips, moaning in shock and pleasure.

“Did I hurt you?”

Adam bit his lip and shook his head. He twitched and squirmed around Elias’ mass, buried not even all the way inside of him.

“M-move, please.”

Elias pulled partway out before shoving himself back in, slow and gentle while Adam tried to bite back moans. Large hands still gripped Adam’s waist, guiding him and keeping him from slamming himself down on Elias. Adam groaned, clawing at the pillows and headboard as Elias pulled him into an agonizingly slow rhythm.

With the others it was methodical. It was touch and movement and heavy panting, all driving to the one goal of using him as much as they could. Of making sure they got their money’s worth – so to speak. It was unrestrained, savage in its need to take take take from him. And Adam would moan and surrender, his mind drifting to that empty place where he is alone with foreign touches. All to separate bodies from deeds. Potential intimacy from ecstasy.

But here…

“Oh God, Elias.”

Elias whimpered, nuzzling his face into Adam’s neck as he started bucking his hips. He let go of Adam’s waist only to wrap his arms around him, dragging him close and kissing his neck. Adam shouted in pleasure as Elias shifted within him and sank in deeper. Lips and teeth scraped against his neck as Elias came, whining softly in his throat. Adam’s breaths grew short as Elias reached down and pumped his cock. Strangled cries were muted against Elias’ skin, Adam’s toes curling as he tried not to succumb so quickly. But it was a losing battle.

“Adam,” Elias whispered, lips brushing against the shell off his ear. “My beautiful Adam. Adam.”

Adam struggled to go to that blank and distant place but Elias kept dragging him back. To the room. To the bed. To Elias’ cock buried inside of him and a warm mouth against his skin. He came with a helpless cry, muffled as Elias kissed him.

Dazed, Adam groaned as Elias slipped out of him and laid him down on the bed. He nodded absently when Elias offered to help clean him up, eyes drifting shut in a post-orgasmic haze. Alone in the bedroom he listened as Elias walked into the bathroom and ran the tap. As Adam closed his legs he felt just how loose he was, lube and Elias’ come splattered around his hole. He kept his eyes shut, knowing full well what would happen next. Elias, just as Chilton and the others did, would be glowing in satisfaction - Adam a conquest successfully claimed. Then the haze of this moment would immediately lift, forcing him back to the present and the plan he had set in motion.

He didn't want that moment to come.

It wasn't until Elias had taken a warm washcloth and cleaned the sex from Adam's chest and stomach that Adam opened his eyes. But Elias didn't look as he thought he would. His expression was blank, his vision locked in the mid-distance as he cleaned. Adam sat up, Elias looking down at him curiously.

It made sense, in retrospect, for someone like Elias to look disenchanted and even underwhelmed. After all, to him sex had been nothing but coming and then cleaning. Coming and cleaning. Every day. And there he was, cleaning up the mess he made when he came. It didn't matter if Adam was there or not because, really, that's all it has ever been. And in the moment Adam realized this he was lost at what to do.

So he did what came naturally.

Adam leaned forward and dragged Elias down into a kiss. Elias moaned into Adam's mouth as he was pulled on top of him, their bodies warm against each other. It didn’t take much before Elias was hard again, his rigid cock pressed against Adam’s thigh. Adam tensed in anticipation, wondering how many times Elias could come before he was worn out.

“Want it again?” Adam whispered. “Something rough?”

Elias nodded, needily kissing him as Adam turned onto his stomach. Adam arched his back, spreading his legs and exposing his entrance, still loose and with remnants of their last session on him. He handed Elias the lube again, moaning softly as Elias clung to him and kissed along his body.

He needed something vocal, Adam decided, to really get him invested and exhausted. Unpredictable moans from a wanting body trembling beneath him, a sharp division between Adam and the people who have wandered through Elias’ fantasies. Elias may have imagined he heard it so many times, but he had never been able to hear anyone actually crying out, helpless beneath him.

Elias wasted no time as he slicked himself up and shoved his fingers inside Adam, stretching him even further. Adam hummed soft, contented moans into the pillow, his hands grasping at the sheets and blankets around him. He was only just starting to get hard again when Elias stuffed himself into him in one solid thrust. Adam screamed in pleasure and pain, cry muffled by the pillow.

“A-Adam?”

“Harder, Elias,” Adam cried out, loud enough so that the neighbors above and below could hear him. “Oh God, fuck me.”

Elias pulled back and thrust in again, driving himself into Adam up to the hilt.

“Oh god, harder. Harder, Elias. Hard- oh fuck.”

They moved powerfully and with the full weight of their bodies, jostling the bed and causing the painting above the headboard to rattle against the wall. Elias’ moans joined Adam’s, each only fueling the other. Adam pumped his cock as Elias grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him off the bed; Adam’s long hair bouncing at the apex of each thrust. Again Elias wrapped his arms around him and kissed along his jaw. Adam turned his head, bringing their mouths together as much as he could before Elias had him crying out again.

The moans weren’t as calculated as they once were. They weren’t ideas of manipulative seduction anymore as much as they were involuntary cries forced from his body. Not muffled any longer Adam gave in, stroking himself and milking Elias’ cock as he came onto the sheets. There was no blank and distant world he could disappear to as he came; it was all replaced by Elias’ impassioned fucking.

“Elias. Elias.”

Adam murmured Elias’ name over and over again, Elias coring his weak body and drilling him into the mattress. All he could do was whine in his throat as Elias groaned and pumped his sex into him. There were a few more rapid thrusts before Elias finally slipped out of him and collapsed beside Adam on the bed.

“My Adam,” he said, his voice quiet and lost between gentle kisses along Adam’s arm. “My beautiful Adam.”

Adam let himself be pulled into a tight embrace, Elias murmuring praises and nuzzling his hair. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take when Elias started getting on top of him again, cock stiff and leaking as if it had been unattended all night. They kissed, deep and passionate as Elias waited patiently for Adam to turn around or spread his legs again.

When Adam was entered for a third time the world was a blur. Sweat unraveled Elias’ curls, his hair falling in long strands over his eyes. On his back, Adam reached up and touched the dampened hair on Elias’ chest, feeling his warmth against cold hands. Elias kissed him as he pressed in deep and held Adam’s slight frame against him. Adam whimpered, sucking a mark onto Elias’ neck as he clung to his powerful body. He didn’t even notice that he was screaming Elias’ name until he was silenced with a forceful kiss.

The guest in the room next door pounded on the wall but Adam couldn’t stop moaning. Elias gently sushed him and dragged his fingertips over Adam’s lips, murmuring in fragmented English that he had to be quiet. Unable to do much to control himself, Adam took Elias’ fingers into his mouth and sucked on them. He dragged his tongue against them like he would the underside of a cock, listening to Elias gasp and whimper. It was all Elias needed to push him over the edge and make him come again.

Adam gasped in pleasure as Elias took his fingers out of Adam’s mouth and shifted their still-connected bodies so that they lay on their side. He continued to thrust into Adam, kissing his hair and holding their bodies together. When Adam came Elias clamped his hand over his mouth, muffling his shout. They stayed like that until the only sound out of Adam was a quiet, contented hum.

When Elias left the bed it wasn’t for long. Adam gazed up at him sleepily as Elias cleaned him up again, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of his tired eyes. He climbed into bed with Adam, clinging to him and kissing along his jaw.

Elias fell asleep holding Adam, the blankets on the floor and bedsheets tangled around their legs. Adam managed to stay awake just a little longer, eyes closed and listening to the sound of Elias’ breaths even out.

The suitcase of notes was only a footnote to an afterthought for Adam as he let himself drift off to sleep.


End file.
